Adore me
by Fjellnord
Summary: The crazy story about Crabbe's little sister, getting into trouble, and troubling the Slytherin prince.
1. Chapter 1

**This will be my first published fanfic, so please go easy on me. I've been writing small snippets of this story for a long time, and I've taken down and edited the parts I've previously posted, because I just wasn't happy with how they turned out. **

**I have decided to write about my character Elvira's first year, and then rush through her 4th year, and then to her 5th year, because I'm just not sure if anyone would actually like to read that much about an OC. But, if it turns out people want to read more about how her relationships developed with the other characters, I might post a story with the «out takes» so to speak, or incorporate them in this one. We'll see. **

**The main character is one of my own, and I own nothing but her and her thoughts.**

**Slight OOCness will probably occur. So, with all that out of the way, enjoy!**

Elvira woke up abruptly, groaning at the bright sunlight. Turning over, she glanced at her clock and jerked out of bed, lost balance and flailed out on the floor. It was 10:10 am, and she was running horribly late. She got up quickly and hurried out of her room, grabbing a pair of pants and a sweater on the way out. Waddling down the hallway, with her pants around her knees and her head up her sweater arm, she bumped into her brother.

"Oi, watch where you're going!" he snapped at her, pushing her into the wall as he walked past her.

"Why the hell didn't you wake me? We have to leave in 5 minutes!" She yelled, but he seemed to have disappeared into his room, because she got no answer. She righted her sweater and buttoned her pants, and ran downstairs to where her parents sat waiting in the sitting room.

"Why didn't anyone wake me?" She tried again, while cramming three crumpets into her mouth.

"We asked Vincent to wake you an hour ago." Her mother replied stiffly.

"Well.." she began, spraying crumbs on the rug, but her mother snapped at her not to talk with food in her mouth and to get ready to leave. She stomped out of the sitting room and upstairs to her bedroom, muttering about her useless brother. She brushed her hair quickly, and started hauling her trunk out onto the landing.

"Dad! I need help!" she yelled. The staircase creaked and the dull thud of enormous feet got closer, as her father ascended the stairs. His large, grumpy face appeared, and he stuck his hand out before even getting to the top. Elvira pushed the large trunk towards him, and followed him down the stairs. They all gathered in the library to take the floo to Diagon Alley, and after a lot of swearing from her dad, who was much to large to fit in the fireplace, let alone with two trunks, they disappeared one by one.

30 minutes later, she, her brother and her parents appeared on platform 9 3/4. She had gone the previous year as well, to see her brother off for his first year at Hogwarts, but it all seemed to be much more magical this time around. She drank in all the sights and sounds, her body quivering with anticipation.

"Mum, I'm going to go and find a compartment" she said distantly, not wanting to take her eyes off all the people bustling around. They all walked towards the Hogwarts express, and her father helped her brother heave both of their trunks onto the train. Her mother gave her a brief hug and a peck on the cheek, and her father just nodded at her.

"Send us an owl tonight" he said gruffly, as if withholding affection until he was sure she lived up to the family name. She nodded and got on the train. Vincent got on after her, grabbed her trunk and set off down the corridor. Before she even had time to protest, he disappeared into a compartment, and she hurried after him.

"You're sitting with us. Dad's orders" Vincent grunted. Elvira was about to tell him she didn't care one bit about their dad's orders, and that she would find her own compartment when a blonde boy stood up and extended his hand.

"Ah, the second Crabbe. I'm Draco." he said, smirking. Elvira grasped his hand.

"Elvira." she muttered, letting go of his hands as quickly as she could. His hair was slicked back, which made his head look like a giant upside-down egg.

"This is Pansy and Gregory." Draco said, gesturing lazily towards a boy about Vincent's size and a mean-looking girl with beady eyes. Gregory grunted and Pansy scowled. Vincent prodded Elvira in the back, and she reluctantly sat down. Vincent put their trunks on the luggage rack, and sat down next to her. Elvira had a feeling this would be the least enjoyable afternoon of her life.

After several hours of hoping the floor would fall out so she could escape, the train slowed down. A voice told them to leave their things on the train, and to have a nice evening. Elvira jumped out of the compartment as quickly as she could, eager to leave the others behind. She stumbled off the train, nearly taking a sulky Hufflepuff with her, and breathed in the cold air.

"First years! First years over here!" Elvira turned towards the voice and stopped dead, causing a pile-up of angry students behind her. A giant, hairy man was standing to the side of the platform, a group of tiny, terrified people beside him. She walked hesitantly towards him, and he smiled at her. She smiled back and stood next to a ginger girl in worn-out robes.

"That's Hagrid. My brothers says he's not as scary as he looks." the ginger girl offered.

"My brother usually just talks about the food." Elvira said and the girl smiled at her. Hagrid counted them to make sure they were all there, before walking them towards a fleet of tiny little boats. Elvira stepped into a boat, and the ginger girl sat down next to her. The boat lurched and swayed, before gliding along the lake on it's own accord. Elvira gripped the sides, closing her eyes. She was not fond of boats.

There was a loud, collective gasp, and Elvira opened her eyes to see a huge castle, hundreds, maybe thousands of tiny windows lighting it up.

"Whoa." she said, silently urging their boat to go faster. She wanted to see it up close. Suddenly their boat creaked and shot off, skipping across the water.

"No, no, I didn't mean it, don't go faster." she yelled at the boat, but it was like a dog that's been chained up too long, it did laps around the other boats, before heading straight for the dock. Elvira closed her eyes again, willing the boat to stop before they slammed into the dock. It didn't stop, but it avoided the dock narrowly by skidding onto the grassy bank next to it. She stood up and got out of the boat before it took off again. The other boats glided peacefully up to the docks, depositing it's passengers before floating off to the side. Hagrid got out of his boat and winked at Elvira and the other girl, before leading them up to the castle.

They were ushered into the entrance hall, where a stern looking woman stood. Hagrid bid them all good night and good luck, before disappearing through a set of door. The woman looked at all of them, before telling them about the sorting and the houses. Then she turned around and opened the doors behind her, telling them to follow her. They walked up to a stool, where an old hat was placed. Elvira jumped violently when the hat started singing.

"Elvira Crabbe" said the stern looking woman with a pair of glasses perched on her nose. Elvira took a deep breath, and went up to sit on the stool. The hat was placed on her head, and she nearly fell over when the hat started talking to itself. Elvira was too nervous to pay attention to it.

"SLYTHERIN!" It shouted loudly, and she stumbled awkwardly over to the table where she saw her brother clapping stupidly. Yes, even his clapping looked unintelligent. She sat down next to him, and was congratulated and welcomed pompously by Draco, who kept up a running commentary on the heritage and blood purity of the people being sorted.

"Oh, look, another Weasley" he drawled. Elvira turned around and saw the red headed girl she'd shared a boat with, but wisely kept her mouth shut when Draco continued

"They're pure blood, of course, but father says they're even worse than the mudbloods." He tutted loudly. She swore to herself she would try to make other friends than this bunch in the morning. She gasped as the plates before them filled with food. She dove across the table to get her hands on a nice looking chicken leg, and started to rip the meat of it with her teeth.

"You certainly eat like a Crabbe, even if you don't look like one" he said, cocking his eyebrow.

"Is that a compliment or an insult?" She asked before spotting some mashed potatoes and starting to pile them on her plate.

"Both." he said, before delicately carving his chicken, with his pinky sticking out. She snorted and rolled her eyes. 'What an idiot' she thought to herself as she continued stuffing potatoes into her mouth.

The weeks after arriving at Hogwarts were eventful. Right after the start of term feast, Elvira had sent her parents an owl telling them she was sorted into Slytherin, and in return she'd gotten a huge gift basket of sweets and baked goods from her mother, and a note that simply read "Good" from her father. She'd lost the basket to her greedy brother, though she didn't put up much of a fight. She had never been that fond of sweets anyway she thought as she watched her brother cramming a jam tart into his mouth.

She quickly learnt, however, that being a Slytherin, and a Crabbe, did not make life easy at Hogwarts. After two weeks of being made fun of in class and tripped and laughed at in the corridors, she had finally snapped. Clutching a roll of parchment from her herbology professor in her hand, she slowly knocked on Professor Snape's office door.

"Enter!"

She swallowed and walked into his office, trying to keep her head held high, but failing when she saw his beady stare.

"I have a note for you, Sir." She said, looking down at her feet and holding out the scroll. He took it, read it quickly and motioned for her to sit down. She did, despite her instinct to run away.

"As this is your first offence, let me offer you some advice" Snape said acidly. "You are a Slytherin, and I expect you to handle yourself with more dignity than this." he hissed, pointing at the note she'd brought.

"You need to get your emotions in check, and keep them there. I will not tolerate that sort of rash and childish behaviour in my students, no matter the cause." He stared at her, but it was not the usual cold stare. It was calculating, as though he was trying to read her.

"I'm sorry, Sir. It will not happen again, I promise." She muttered.

"Very well, you may go." He said, waving his hand in the direction of the door. She got up and walked towards it, mystified as to how she'd gotten off so lightly. From all she'd heard, Snape did tend to favour the Slytherins, but still... She sighed, and walked towards the great hall for lunch.

Later that evening as she sat in the common room doing her homework, her brother came over to congratulate her on her earlier tantrum.

"A bit undignified wasn't it, throwing a flowerpot." She recognized the voice of Draco Malfoy, and she heard him sitting down beside her.

"I'm a Crabbe" she said, not looking up from her book. "I'm anything but dignified". He didn't answer, so she looked up, hoping he'd left, but he was still sitting there, looking at her with a smirk. Elvira saw Pansy coming into the common room, and stood to leave. After being yelled at two weeks ago for trying to "steal her Draco away from her", she figured running away was her best option, feeling she'd had more than enough drama for one day.

She looked back over her shoulder and saw Draco shrugging Pansy off, and heading for the boy's dormitory. She met Pansy's eyes, and knew she was about to get her head torn off.

"What were you doing with Draco?" she heard the shrill voice from the dormitory door, and froze.

"Nothing, I told you I'm not interested in him. He's all yours." she kept rummaging her trunk, not wanting to look up.

"Then why does it seem as if the two of you can't get enough of each other?" she said, sitting down on Elvira's bed. Her head snapped up, thinking Pansy was still in the doorway.

"First, I'm 11. I've no time or use for boys. Second, I've only talked to him three times." She was glad to hear she sounded more confident than she felt.

"But he looked at you..." she said suspiciously, narrowing her eyes.

"Yes, it's customary to look at the person you're talking to, and I can assure you I have no interest in the boy. Take it up with him if it bothers you so much. "She slammed her trunk shut, and left for the bathroom, making a mental note of staying away from Draco, or else his crazy girlfriend would surely kill her.

That resolve didn't last long, however. The next day she was standing in a corridor in between classes when her brother and his friends suddenly appeared, Pansy sending her a look of contempt. She sighed, and muttered "bathroom" while she hurried off, away from the crazy Slytherin princess.


	2. Chapter 2

**It's me again! I'm terribly sorry, I have mislead you. I told you I was going to write about her third year, but it's really the end of the fourth, and the summer holidays in between fourth and fifth. This starts at the end of Elvira's fourth year, which is Draco's fifth. Things will start to pick up soon, I promise. You wont believe the chapter I actually had typed out, but decided to leave for another time. **

**Some will probably see Draco as sort of OOC, but this is how I imagine him being towards a "confidant", for lack of a better word. I just feel like I know Draco, and this is how I always thought of him as being, had he just had someone to open up to. Anyway, enough of my sentimental ramblings, on with the show!**

The atmosphere in the Slytherin common room was a muted one. After the fiasco in the Department of mysteries, several people's fathers had been sent to Azkaban, including Elvira's. She sat staring at a wall, deep in thought when she felt someone plop down next to her. It was Draco. They looked at each other, and Draco looked as though he wanted to speak several times, but he obviously couldn't find the right words. He'd done it several times over the last few days, and they had always been interrupted by some rude idiot. Most frequently her brother, and Gregory. This time it was the most annoying idiot of them all.

"Draco?" It was Pansy. Of course it was. Even after all these years, she was still in her delusional, one-sided relationship with him, refusing to see what everyone else saw. Elvira got up to leave. She wasn't afraid of Pansy any more, but she wasn't in the mood for her silliness. She felt a hand grasping hers, and she looked down and saw a pleading look in Draco's eyes, feeling goose bumps spreading up her arm. His touch was firm, but light at the same time, if that's even possible. It was begging her to stay, though not making her do so. She didn't know how to describe it, her brain seemed to have shut itself off. She had no idea how long she stood like that, his hand on hers, staring intensely at her, but it was suddenly interrupted by a very displeased Pansy.

"What are you doing, have you lost your mind? I'm here to comfort you, Draco, you don't need_ her_." She sent Elvira a dangerous look, but Elvira didn't look at her, she was still looking at Draco, who stood up, finally letting go off her hand, and glaring at Pansy.

"I don't need_ your_ comfort, I will never need anything of yours. Do you not think that if I wanted anything from you, I would have asked for it by now?" He spoke with a deadly calm, fury apparent on his face, but Pansy seemed not to notice.

"What do you mean you don't need _my _comfort!? Are you messing about with _her_ behind my back?" She jerked her head in Elvira's direction, and people around the common room was starting to take notice, and was now watching the scene unfold with eagerness.

"Behind your back? First off, I'm not your boyfriend, so I don't need to hide anything from you. Second, we're in the middle of the common room, Pansy, it's not really a secret meeting."He hissed at her. She spluttered, tears trailing down her cheeks.

"I'm just going to.." Elvira mumbled, not able to come up with a good excuse.

"No, stay." His expression changed and his voice softened. Pansy looked livid, but she didn't leave. Elvira knew she was going to pay for this.

"I really don't want to get in the middle of this." she said, looking up at Draco.

The common room had gone completely silent, and Draco seemed to suddenly notice. He softly grabbed Elvira's arm, and and lead her towards the door. Vincent stood from his chair, but too afraid to defy Draco when he sent him a stern look, he sat back down again. Elvira glanced quickly over her shoulder and saw Pansy stomping towards the girls dormitory.

Draco lead her out of the common room, and out of the castle. It was a sunny day with a soft breeze gently caressing the treetops, and she blinked in the bright light. They stopped, and Draco let go off her arm, and sat down under a large tree. She sat down next to him, still confused and bewildered after the scene that had just unfolded. She suddenly felt angry. Did the boy have no sense at all? Surely he must have known Pansy would lose it when he touched her. That must have been why he did it, the bastard. Cause a scene so he could get rid of Parkinson. She opened her mouth and inhaled sharply, to say exactly what she thought of his little stunt, but he spoke first.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to get caught up in all that." He actually looked sincere, and some of Elvira's anger ebbed away. She looked at him, contemplating what to say.

"It's alright, if you promise to help keep her away from me. She nearly hexed me for looking at you when I was in the first year, she'll probably try and kill me this time."

"Yeah, I remember." He was smirking again. He had barely smirked in days, which had to be a new record. His smirk turned devious.

"Are you sure this isn't just some plan to get close to me?" She rolled her eyes at his predictable behaviour.

"I am close to you Draco, in case you haven't noticed, we've been doing everything except sleeping and showering together lately, and no, that is not a proposition" she added when he had opened his mouth to speak.

"Are you sure about that?" He said in a flirtatious tone.

"Don't flatter yourself." She muttered, crossing her arms, and she felt him move closer. Elvira just kept staring off in the distance, knowing he was trying to get a reaction out of her, and she refused to give it to him. Suddenly, she felt his breath on her face, and she turned around quickly to stare him straight in the eyes.

"It won't work, Draco, so you might as well give up." She kept staring, not moving away, even though his nose was nearly touching hers.

"What do you mean "it won't work"? I'm not doing anything."

"Yes, you are. You're expecting me to either run away or fall for your rather pathetic attempts at "flirting". You do it when you're insecure or uncomfortable. I know you, I've watched you do it for years, and it won't work with me." His smirk had faltered slightly, but it was replaced with a grin as she finished.

"You've watched me for years?" He said, grinning wider. Truthfully, she had, but she would never admit it. And it was probably just because he was her brother's friend, and completely off limits. Forbidden fruit, as they say. She stared at him, and his smirk widened even more. She decided to throw him off a bit.

"Kiss me then." She said, much more confidently than she felt. She knew he wouldn't, he was just pushing her. His eyes flickered, and he pulled away slightly. It was her time to smirk.

"I knew you wouldn't dare. All talk and no lips, aren't you?" She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He quickly regained his cocky attitude though.

"A kiss from a Malfoy is a gift, and I won't waste it on someone who doesn't want it" he said, though she could tell he was blushing slightly. She snorted derisively.

"Oh, of course, how silly of me. Perhaps if you gift wrap it?" She suggested sarcastically. He chuckled, and turned towards her, and looked at her in an odd way. She knew he wanted to talk about whatever was going on in his head, but he was uncertain about how much to reveal about himself. She sometimes felt she understood him completely, and sometimes not at all. She knew she only understood as much as he let her, though. He sighed, and then spoke quietly.

"I'm just tired of it all. My father is already talking about finding me a wife, to make sure the Malfoy name survives another war. Can you believe it? I'm not even 16! We wouldn't even be in this mess hadn't it been for him, how can he dump all the responsibility over on me? He always told me it was for all our sakes, but I'm starting to think it's mostly for him" He looked half despaired, half furious.

"I don't really know what you want me to say?" She said. She really didn't.

"Whatever you're thinking." He replied, looking apprehensive.

"Well, as far as the situation with the heir..It will never be as hard on me as it is on you. I'm a girl, I'm only expected to sit tight and look pretty until some rich pure blood wizard comes and asks for my hand in marriage. Also, my father is easily manipulated, so I never had it that badly. As for you father, I expect you have been beaten into submission since you were a child. And now that his image as is slowly falling apart, with him being kicked around by both the Dark Lord and the Ministry, you're starting to realise his word might not be your command, and that you are one of the few left that jumps when he tells you to. Also, you've been a complete arse in his name, for 5 years. That must make you feel like a bit of an idiot as well." He looked at her with a mixture of discomfort, fear and something else she couldn't quite identify. She understood though, he was afraid he'd shown too much of himself.

"Just because I've gotten away easily, it doesn't mean my brother has." She said simply. It was a lie though, their father wasn't clever enough to manipulate even a small child, but he looked relieved, and they fell silent again. It was a comfortable silence. Somehow, over the years she and Draco had gotten closer, and she had no idea how, as they usually sat like this, silent and occasionally glance at each other or threw humorous insults at each other. It was a strange kind of closeness, but it was nice.

"This summer is going to be hell." He suddenly said, pulling Elvira out of her thoughts.

"I know... I could ask mum if you could stay with us? Or get Vincent to do it. I'm not sure how happy she'd be about me wanting to have boys over." She said the last bit jokingly, and he smirked that disturbingly handsome smirk.

"No, we wouldn't want that, would we? Though I am a rich pure blood wizard." He said wagging his eyebrows. She playfully punched him.

"I'm not having your brats, Draco, so forget it." He let out an undignified snort of laughter, and she started laughing as well. She loved it when he did something that he usually considered to be "beneath him".

"What are you two laughing at?" She heard the deep grunt of her brother behind her, and they both tried to keep a straight face, but it was no use. They fell about laughing again, even though it hadn't been something very funny that had set them off.

"Elvira, can I talk to you?" Her brother said, looking annoyed.

"Sure." She said, getting up. Turning to Draco she said "I'll ask then?" And he nodded. She followed her brother, who was a couple of paces ahead of her.

"Ask what?" He said, squinting at her.

"Draco wondered if he could stay with you this summer. With Mr. Malfoy and everything, he just wants to get away for a bit, you know." She kept her voice light and innocent, but for once Vincent actually didn't just accept what she said.

"Are you sure that's the reason." He said, looking as though it was hard work being so suspicious and forming all these complicated thoughts all on his own.

"Yes, why wouldn't it be?" She asked, looking stern.

"Dunno, you've been talking to him a lot lately. That's why I came out here." He grunted back. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Honestly, Vincent. We're friends. Sort of, anyway, and if you must know he's been asking me for advice about this girl he fancies. Stop pretending like you give a damn, it really doesn't suit you."

"But Dad told me to keep an eye on who you were dating." He said, looking confused about if he should listen to her or their dad.

"Did he? Why?" She demanded. Her father was never the caring type, and this seemed uncharacteristic. And then it hit her.

"He wants to make sure it's a pure blood, doesn't he?" She said, and Vincent looked relieved he had figured it out on her own. Her father had obviously told him not to tell her.

"Well, you can report back and tell him I'm not dating anyone, pure blood or otherwise." And with that she turned and stomped back to Draco. She plopped down beside him, and let out a sigh.

"What was all that about?" He asked carefully.

"Turns out my dear father asked Vincent to keep an eye out on who I was dating." She huffed.

"And he thought we were..?"

"Yes. So I told him you'd asked for advice about another girl, if he asks." He looked at her indignantly and said:

"I don't need advice on how to get girls, I need advice on how to keep them away!" She started to laugh again.

"You are so bloody full of yourself.." She said, shaking her head.

They ended up skipping dinner, just sitting under their tree, mostly in silence. When they finally got back to the common room, several people wolf whistled and laughed. Elvira rolled her eyes and walked towards the girls dormitory, muttering a hushed goodnight to Draco. Just before the door closed she heard a "well done, mate!" from the common room. She shook her head and walked towards her room, it had been a long day, and she just wanted to find her bed. When she got to the door of her room, however, Pansy was waiting for her.

"Feel good about yourself, do you? Now that you've made a fool of me in front of the entire house. Do you have any idea how that made me feel?" Pansy asked, sounding on the verge of hysterics. Elvira stopped.

"Pansy, you cannot possibly fathom the immensity of the crap I do not give about your silly little problems, in your simple minded little world." she said calmly, and closed the door in Pansy's face.

A brown haired girl with large eyes and freckles in Elvira's year burst out laughing.

"Some days she's having, eh? First Draco and now you. She will be in quite a mood tomorrow". She said just before she pulled the curtains on her bed, and Elvira chuckled to herself as she climbed into her own bed. What an odd day it had been.


	3. Chapter 3

**OK, I'm not entirely happy with how this chapter turned out. I like the plot, but I just feel like I couldn't get it right, in a way. I just feel like it's written in an odd way. I can't even explain it.**

**I'll just post it for now, as people want updates and I've been trying to get this right for days, but I might edit it later. So I hope you enjoy it, and look past the strange-ness. **

**This is set in the summer holidays between Elvira's fourth and fifth year. **

Elvira's mother had said that Draco was welcome to stop by whenever he wanted, but would not permit him to spend the nights there. As it turned out, Draco still hadn't stopped by, so it wasn't really an issue. Elvira plunked down on her bed after what must have been her best birthday yet. Her mother had been away for a couple of days, so she had roamed about the gardens in her pyjamas all day, eating cake and not giving a damn about anything. She had just curled up under the blankets when an owl tapped the window. She growled and cursed as she got up again, and let the owl in. She took the note, and the own flew away. The letter was very short;

_I'm at the gates._

_D_

She cursed some more as she put on her slippers and went downstairs and out towards the gates. The idiot hadn't bothered saying a word all summer, and now he turned up at 1 in the morning. She saw him standing there, and immediately knew something was wrong. He clung to the bars, and looked dishevelled. He never looked dishevelled. She quickened her pace and finally reached the gates.

"Happy birthday." He said softly while she was fiddling with the lock. She caught the smell of alcohol now, and rolled her eyes.

"You're an hour late for that." She said as she finally got the lock opened, and he tumbled through the gates as they opened. She was unprepared, and he fell on top of her, giggling madly.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She said angrily as she rolled him over to the side, and got up to lock the gates again.

"I just needed a break." He said, sitting up and looking at her with his eyes crossed. She rolled her eyes again, and bent to help him up.

"Come on, we need to get you inside." She said as she heaved him up. He was most uncooperative, and he was muttering incoherently under his breath. After much strain and tumbling over a few times, all of which made Draco giggle and make remarks about her "eagerness" she finally got him into the sitting room.

"Lie down." She said, trying to push him in to the sofa, which made him giggle again.

"Oh, I wasn't aware we were in a hurry." He said, trying to be seductive, and failing. He finally gave in, but pulled her after him. Taken aback, she fell right onto him and they both grunted in pain as their heads crashed into one another.

"Hello." He said, looking into her warm, brown eyes with his cold grey ones. She suddenly felt flustered, but didn't move away.

"Hi" she said quietly, smelling the whisky on his breath. Suddenly the lights flicked on, and she sprang up, looking guilty, accidentally hitting Draco's crotch with her knee. Her brother was in the doorway, looking at them stupidly. He stood there for about a minute, before he turned the lights off and tottered off to bed. She turned back to Draco who was curled up and whimpering while holding the injured place with both of his hands.

"Sorry 'bout that." She muttered, not daring to make eye contact. After a while he had stopped whimpering, and he gingerly uncurled himself.

"Impressive knee-work" he muttered, still holding onto it for dear life. Elvira didn't know where to look. What did you offer in a situation like this? A bandage? Ice? She couldn't help but chuckle at her own foolish thoughts, and Draco looked up at her.

"It's not funny you know, it really hurts!" At this she started laughing out loud. He glared at her she calmed down.

"I'm sorry, but this whole situation is just absurd. What are you doing here in the middle of the night, drunk?" She asked, still amused. If nothing else, the kick seemed to have sobered him enough to answer.

"Our house has been a nightmare the last weeks, and I figured I'd try and see if alcohol helped. Then I wanted to talk to you, so I came here." He said, sitting up, and motioning for her to sit down beside him. She did.

"How did you even get here? You live miles away, and I somehow don't see you walking in your current state."

"I got one of the house elves to apparate me here. I even brought my owl, to send you the message. Seemed like a good idea." He said, shrugging.

"What did you want to talk to me about then?" She said, an uncalled for feeling of nervousness fluttering in her stomach.

"I don't know. I just wanted to." He said and yawned.

"You can sleep it off here" she said, and got up to get him a blanket.

"Thank you." He said as she handed him the blanket. Elvira nodded and left the room.

She went up the stairs and into her bedroom, taking her pyjamas off as she walked into the bathroom. She really felt like she needed a shower after she had hauled a drunk Draco into the house. She stepped into the shower, and hummed to herself as the warm water hit her.

After she was finished, she wrapped a towel around her head, and one around her body and grabbed a pair of underpants from a drawer. Still humming she walked into her bedroom, and jumped violently as she noticed someone sitting on her bed. A blonde someone.

"Nice legs." He said, his lips curling in a roguish smile "And nice knickers" he added, eyeing the bright pink pair in her hand.

"Thank you." She said, staying calm. "If you would please leave, I need to get changed." She said, walking over to her wardrobe and pulling out a fresh pair of pyjamas.

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere." He said, looking still more pleased with himself. Elvira knew he had probably come up with some brilliant plan in his drunk little head, and as she figured he probably wouldn't remember it in the morning, she decided to tease him a bit.

"Very well." She said, turning so her back was facing him, she took a deep breath and let her towel fall. She heard a sharp intake of breath, and smiled to herself. She removed the towel she had on her head, letting her hair fall down her back, and started dressing herself. When she'd finished, she walked over to her mirror, and started brushing her hair, completely ignoring Draco who was still sitting on her bed, stunned.

She put her brush down, flicked the lights off, leaving only her bedside lamp on, and went over to her bed.

"Are you going to sit there all night?" She asked impatiently. He got up slowly, looking at her strangely. It was unnerving seeing him like this. He looked so helpless.

"Good night then, Draco." She said and turned her bedside lamp off, not wanting to look into his eyes. He didn't move.

"Is there anything you need?" she asked impatiently. She knew she should probably go easy on him, but his behaviour was really making her uncomfortable. He didn't answer, but she heard him shuffle silently out of the room.

The next morning when she woke up, Elvira had momentarily forgotten about the previous night. It wasn't until she heard voices coming from the kitchen that she suddenly remembered, and suddenly dreaded facing her brother's rage. She stopped in the hallway when she heard Draco explaining to Vincent what he was doing there.

"So I guess the owl must have been confused as you're both named Crabbe." Said Draco's voice smoothly. There was a long pause before her brother spoke.

"But why was she on top of you?" He said. He was getting smarter. How annoying!

"I had had a few drinks and was being rather uncooperative. She was trying to make me stay on the sofa so she could fetch you. When you just left we assumed you weren't in the mood to talk, and she went to bed and left me to sleep on the sofa. Really, it was quite innocent." Draco said, in a very convincing way. Another long pause followed, and Elvira decided it was safe to enter the kitchen.

"Good morning boys! Feeling better today Draco?" She said cheerfully.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine. Just seemed your brother misunderstood the events of last night." He said smirking slightly.

"Old habits die hard, I suppose." She said, trying not to laugh at her brothers confused expression as he tried to figure out whether or not he had just been insulted. Draco's smirk grew bigger, and Elvira went to the pantry to find something to eat.

"Are any of you eating breakfast here today?" She called out.

"No, I'm going over to Greg's house." Her brother answered.

"Oh, how long are you staying?" Elvira said as she came out of the pantry with eggs, flour, sugar and milk, vaguely remembering a pancake recipe and hoping she would manage to make some.

"If you don't tell mum, I'll stay until Friday when she gets home." He grunted and he got up and started walking out into the hallway.

"I won't tell her then!" Elvira called after him, inwardly cheering at the prospect of having some peace.

"And how long are you staying then?" She asked Draco, which had been forgotten completely by her brother.

"If you don't tell your mum, until Friday." He said, smirking gloriously. Elvira snorted and got to work on the pancakes.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm back again! This chapter is somewhat fluffy, but not really. Confused yet? **

**I had to edit this chapter, some of it was irking me a lot, it just didn't flow smoothly enough. So if you read it the first time I uploaded it, you might want to read it again, because I added a couple of little things. Also, I know there's a mistake in here somewhere, but I cannot for the life of me locate it right now. So please excuse that. **

**And chapter 5 is just around the bend! Off we go then!**

**Still in the summer holiday. **

Two days after Draco's dramatic arrival, Elvira woke up abruptly at noon. She suddenly smelled something burning, and then she remembered about Draco. What on earth was he up to now? She rushed down the stairs, and into the kitchen. Draco was standing by the stove looking at a frying pan on fire, seemingly in some sort of trance. She ran over and grabbed it without thinking, burning herself on the hot handle. That seemed to jolt Draco back to his senses and he grabbed it with a towel protecting his hand, and threw it in the sink and turned on the water. The fire went out, the pan sizzled and spat as the cold water hit it. They stood in silence for a while, Elvira's hand stinging and blistering.

"Well, you do always say I have a flare for dramatics." He said still looking shocked. She snorted half heartedly, and stuck her hand under the cold running water.

"We should probably do something about that" Said Draco nodding towards her hand.

"Would you mind? We have some healing potions and stuff in the bathroom just down the hall. It's in the drawer under the sink." Elvira said, not wanting to remove her hand from the soothing water. He hurried off, quickly returning with several potions. He motioned for her to sit down at the table, so she turned off the water and walked to the table and sat down. He took her hand gently, and looked at it. Her entire palm was red and stinging, and a couple of blisters were already forming. He reached out for a small, blue glass bottle and when he opened it, it smelled strongly of honey.

"This might sting a bit" he said, hos brow furrowed in concentration as he poured some out on a wash cloth.

"It already stings, so go right ahead." she said, clenching her jaw shut as he carefully cleaned her hand. Then he took another bottle, brown this time with a dropper and let a couple of foul-smelling drops hit her raw palm. The burn intensified and then it disappeared completely with a huff of smoke. She sighed in relief and looked up. She hadn't even noticed until now how he looked. It was quite a sight seeing the Malfoy heir with his hair messy, soot on his nose and with robes covered in what appeared to be eggs. She smiled to herself and he looked confused. She reached out and tried to wipe off the soot. He froze and she quickly withdrew her hand.

"You have soot on your nose." she said awkwardly, and got up quickly, gathering the potions and hurried out of the kitchen. "Such a smooth line." she thought to herself as she tossed the supplies back in the drawer.

"You should probably bandage that until it heals." said a voice from the door. She nodded and grabbed a bandage.

"You'll want to freshen up, I assume?" she said, once again taking in his appearance. He walked over to the mirror and looked at himself.

"I like it. Makes me look like a bit of a bad boy, don't you think?" he said checking himself out. Elvira snorted again.

"A bad cook, more like it. What on earth were you trying to make anyway?" she asked.

"Breakfast. I've never really cooked, but I just assumed it would be easy, as I'm not bad at potions." he said rubbing the soot of his nose. "I might have done better if I'd followed a recipe, come to think of it..." he said thoughtfully.

"Well, I'm not great in the kitchen either." said Elvira. She was fiddling with the bandage. It was very difficult to bandage your right hand when you're right handed, she quickly found out. Draco took pity on her though, and leant down to help her.

"It can't be worse than what I made." he said as he fastened the bandage. He looked at her, and they just looked at each other for what seemed liked hours. Then suddenly Elvira cleared her throat and Draco sprang up as if he'd been burned. Elvira had promised herself she would not fall for her brothers friend, but she found that it got increasingly harder with Draco hanging around her all the time.

"I think I'll clean up a bit after all." he said, not looking at her. She nodded and got up to give him some privacy.

"What do you want for.. Well, I guess it's more like lunch now?" she asked before closing the door.

"Whatever you feel like." he said, and Elvira nodded again before closing the door, heading for the kitchen again. She glared at the frying pan and decided on just making toast, feeling she'd had enough excitement for one day. About 10 minutes later Draco came into the kitchen, his nose free of soot and his hair looking immaculate. His robes were still full of eggs though.

"Do you want me to wash that?" she said as she buttered the toast.

"I don't have anything else to wear while it dries." he said taking the piece of toast she offered him.

"I'm sure some of Vincent's old stuff would fit. I can see if I find something later. If not I'm sure you'd look fetching in one of my dresses." she said and moved to the table. Draco smirked.

"Yes, I'm sure you'd like that." he said and sat down next to her. They finished their meal in silence and then they went up to the attic to see if they could find something that would fit Draco. After a good 15 minutes of shuffling boxes with labels like "Dangerous, do not open until buzzing stops" they found one labelled "robes" and Draco said he'd try some of them on. Suddenly, before Elvira could really understand what was about to happen, Draco yanked off his eggy robes and stood before her bare chested and glorious. She quickly started rummaging through the box again determined not to look at him.

"Well, this looks great!" he said and Elvira looked up. She smiled. It was far too tight, so he couldn't close it and the hem stopped just above his knees. It must have been Elvira's old Hogwarts robes.

"I think it might be a bit too small" she said, and pulled out a much larger pair of robes and handed them to him. He pulled off the robe his was "wearing" and Elvira quickly took it back and busied herself with folding it neatly, even though none of the other clothes in the box had been folded.

"Yeah, this one's a bit better." he said with a halfway laugh, and she looked up to see him fully clothed again. She nodded and closed the box and put it away. They descended from the attic, and headed for the kitchen again.

They just stood there for minutes, looking stupidly at the garment they were supposed to be washing.

"Uhm.. I don't really know how to do this." Elvira admitted and Draco looked just as lost as she felt.

"Some housewife you'll make." he said mockingly.

"Oh, shut up. I suppose we just put it in the sink with some soap and hope for the best?" she asked, figuring water and soap would need to be involved.

"That sounds about right." he said and stuffed it in the sink and turned on the water. It unnerved Elvira, he seemed so careless and happy. It just wasn't normal.

"The night you came here, you said you wanted to talk. So maybe we should do that before you have to leave?" she tried carefully. He wrinkled his nose and turned to face her. When did he become so adorable?

"Let's just say we have some guests that aren't to my liking. Besides, it wasn't anything in particular that I wanted to talk about. I just wanted to see you." he said with an expressionless face. Elvira blushed slightly, so she turned back to the soaking robes.

"Oh.. Well, it seemed urgent..." she mumbled, feeling stupid and not knowing what to say.

"It probably was, at the time. I can't even remember what it was any more, so it can't have been that important." he said, but Elvira knew him, and she knew he was hiding something, but he looked at her with that look that meant "don't push it", so she suggested they wait in the library while the robes soaked. He agreed and squeezed a large amount of dish soap in the sink with the robe before following her. Elvira felt like they weren't doing the whole laundry thing completely right, but she had no better suggestions, so she didn't say anything.

Elvira couldn't focus on her book though, she just sat there looking at Draco, who seemed unable to focus as well, as he kept his eyes on the same spot in his book. Eventually he looked up, and for the second time that day they just sat there, staring at each other. He probably knew she didn't believe him, because he sighed and closed his book.

"Fine, I do remember, but I don't feel like talking about it. It was stupid, and quite frankly inappropriate when one is not inebriated. Alright?" he said, looking uncomfortable.

"Sure. Just don't lie to me, you're a terrible liar." Elvira answered, slightly annoyed that he still couldn't trust her.

"I am not! I'm not terrible at anything!" he said childishly and stuck his tongue out. Elvira threw a pillow at him and hid behind her chair in case he tossed one back. He got up, and Elvira squeaked and ran from the library. He followed closely behind, and caught her almost immediately, tickling her. She giggled and squirmed in his arms, then she tried to run away again, but he held her too tightly so he just lost his balance and they toppled to the floor. They lay beside each other on the floor, laughing and out of breath. Draco got up first and offered his hand to help Elvira up. She took it, but wasn't expecting him to pull as hard as he did, so she nearly flew off the floor and hit her forehead on his shoulder. She looked up into his eyes, still holding his hand.

"Hello" he said, oddly reminiscent of the night he had arrived.

"Hi" she whispered back, her heart beating madly, Draco's breath on her face. Maybe she could forget her promise of not falling for her brother's friends, just for a little while.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello all! I'm so, so sorry for the terrible delay, my computer was acting very childishly. But I'm here now, with another chapter, that I hope you will enjoy! This chapter is very short, because it's sort of leading up to some drama, and I wanted that to be put in a separate chapter. **

**Still the summer holidays!**

For the second time that day, Elvira stared at Draco Malfoy for what seemed like an eternity, only this time neither of them pulled away. From the moment she had met Draco, Elvira had told herself never to get sucked in by his charms, never to fall for his tricks and most importantly, never fall for him. She realised in that moment that she had failed completely. She was every bit as intrigued by him as all the other Slytherin girls were, and it annoyed her. She wrinkled her brow in frustration, and had just decided to get as far away from him as possible to sort through her thoughts, when a pair of warm, soft lips found hers. She jumped, not having expected it. What on earth was she supposed to do, anyway? She'd never kissed anyone.

He pulled away, obviously noticing that she wasn't paying attention to his lips at all. He looked at her awkwardly before his face fell into that indifferent mask he almost never wore around her any more. Then he turned on his heal and stomped back into the library. Elvira stood rooted to the spot. She'd just been kissed by Draco Malfoy, and she had done nothing. She had stood there, stiff as a board, eyes wide in shock, not knowing how to deal with it. Furious with herself, she stomped right after him into the library, and saw him sitting on the sofa, still not reading his book. She took a deep breath, yanked the book out of his hands and pulled at his robes trying to get him to stand. He refused, and he was refusing to look at her.

"Get up, you idiot, so I can kiss you!" she barked, not sure exactly when her anger got directed at him. He looked at her, cocking his eyebrow, remaining stubbornly unmoving on the sofa.

"You didn't seem all that enthusiastic about it a few minutes ago." he replied childishly. She growled with frustration.

"You caught me off guard!" she said, her voice rising. He was infuriating, sitting there with his arms crossed, more irresistible than ever.

"Caught you off guard? It was a perfectly romantic moment!" he snapped back. She blinked at him and then she laughed. The absurdity of the situation was just too much to handle.

"A perfectly romantic moment?" she choked out in between laughs. He granted her a half-smile.

"Oh, shut up." he said, trying to look offended, but not quite pulling it off. Feeling adventurous, Elvira sat down beside him, and looked at him.

"Make me." she said in a low voice. Predictable, yes, but effective nonetheless. For the second time that evening, Draco Malfoy kissed her. She sat there awkwardly, just remembering she still had no idea what to do. She put her hands around his neck, hoping he would do something, lead the way. She felt him smirking against her lips, so she pulled away slightly and looked at him through narrowed eyes.

"What?" He said, far too innocently.

"I think I'll go to bed. I don't have the patience to play your little games." She said. It was true, he was trying to "pay her back" for her unsatisfactory reaction earlier, and she knew from experience that there was no reasoning with him when he was in that kind of mood. He was just like a child sometimes. She got up, kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"Remember to turn off the lights when you go to bed." She said sweetly, and then she walked out of the library, up two flights of stairs, and into her bedroom. She locked her door for good measure, not wanting to have to deal with him when she was trying to think things through. She sat down in her large armchair, pulling her knees up to under her chin and stared out at their dark garden. Draco had kissed her. Twice. This made her grin wildly. She considered sending an owl to a girl in her year named Astoria, asking her for advice. She was very pretty, so surely she would have some experience with this matter. She quickly discarded this idea though, as there really wasn't much time for correspondence. It was Wednesday already, so Draco would probably be leaving the next day. She racked her brain, trying to gather all she'd ever overheard about this sort of thing from the other girls in her dorm. She knew the basics of it, of course, but it didn't feel natural to her to just jam her tongue into his mouth, hoping for the best. What if she was a terrible kisser? And what if Draco was just playing with her? She wouldn't put it past him, he truly could be horrible. But at the same time she really felt like she knew him in a way very few people did. She could see past his obnoxious act, because she knew it wasn't him. It was the person he had to be to please his father, and if Lucius wasn't pleased, nobody was.

She sat there mulling things over until she drifted off. She assumed she'd drifted off, it didn't really feel like much time had passed, but her stiff neck told her otherwise. She got up, stretched her neck and went out into her bathroom to change. A few minutes later she slumped down on her bed, and immediately fell into a restless sleep. She woke up once, after being chased by Draco's lips around Diagon Alley. Shaking her head she concluded that it must have been a dream, and rolled over and fell asleep again.

When she got up the next morning there was no sign of Draco anywhere. His robes, which they had completely forgotten about the night before, was gone, and Vincent's old robe was lying on the kitchen table, neatly folded.


	6. Chapter 6

**Surprise! I'm back already!**

**Incoming drama llama! I have a few chapters lined up for you, and I'll(hopefully) post them just a few days apart, to make up for chapter 5's late arrival. Also, this chapter is a bit longer than the others, AND it has a lot of sort of cutesy dialogue, so yay for that!**

**Just in case it's hard to follow, summer holidays is over, Elvira is starting her 5th year, Draco his 6th. **

Elvira sat on her bed, trying to read and failing. Her head was swimming with thoughts. In a few hours time, she would see Draco again, after not having heard a word from him since he left. She hadn't gotten any sleep, all the thoughts she'd fought so hard to suppress had come back with a vengeance. She had been afraid something like that might happen, but after only a couple of innocent pecks? She knew Draco, and she knew that there was a reason for what he did. When her brother had come home after visiting Gregory, she knew why he had shown up drunk and acting strangely. The Dark Lord had set up some sort of lunatic camp at the manor. She also knew that dwelling on his reasons to leave without a word after they'd kissed should be last on her list of priorities after hearing about that, but it wasn't. She had assumed that it was because they'd gotten too close, crossed a line. Draco didn't handle affection very well, but she couldn't help but feel there was something more to it. Sighing deeply, she put away her book. It was no use, she hadn't read more than three words in twice the amount of hours. She looked at her clock. 8 am. She sighed again and got up to get herself ready, deciding to confront Draco when she got on the Hogwarts express.

When she arrived at platform 9 ¾, however, she felt like she wanted nothing to do with him, ever again. She saw him chatting happily with a giggling Pansy, who was wrapped tightly in his arms and playing with his hair. She just stood there, staring at them. The nerve of him! At least he had the decency to look ashamed when their eyes met.

"Come on, let's get your trunks on the train." her mothers voice said, and it brought her back to reality. Mentally shaking herself, she grabbed her trunk and hauled it over towards the train, where her big, beefy brother carried it into a compartment where Gregory Goyle and Blaise Zabini sat. They went outside again to say good bye to their mother.

"I think I'll sit with someone else this time, Vince." Elvira said as she saw the Slytherin couple of the year snuggled together on a seat when they got back onto the train. He grunted, it usually meant yes, and went to help her get her trunk down from the luggage rack.

"Going somewhere, Elvira?" said Pansy triumphantly, her fingers still in Draco's hair. She looked like a monkey checking for lice.

"Yes, I have some things I need to discuss with Astoria. You two patched things up then?" she said, willing her face into her sweetest smile. Pansy obviously thought her smile was sincere, and beamed back at her.

"Yes, Draco owled me a few weeks ago, it was very sweet." she said, looking at him like a love-sick fool. Elvira smirked inwardly when she saw the strained smile he gave Pansy.

"Well, that's lovely. The Prince and Princess of Slytherin together again." she said, and Pansy obviously didn't catch her sarcastic tone, as she beamed even brighter than before. Zabini cocked an eyebrow and smirked before turning to look out the window. With unusually good timing, her brother coughed slightly, reminding her that he was still holding her heavy trunk.

"Yes, I should be going. You two behave, now." she said brightly, and cast Draco one last look before she turned around to leave. She didn't think she had ever been so pleased to be on the receiving end of his death glares.

As the train rattled on, Elvira started to regret her decision of sitting with Astoria and her friends. They were all very nice, but they were also incredibly shallow, and for the last hours they had talked about nothing but haircare potions, boys and make-up. She stared absent-mindedly out of the window, when someone suddenly grabbed her shoulder.

"Elvira, there's someone here to see you." said a pretty blonde girl Elvira didn't even remember the name of. She looked up and saw Draco standing outside their compartment door. She rolled her eyes and resumed her blank stare out the window. She had no intention of talking to him, nothing he could say could lessen her anger. The door opened, and he poked his head in.

"Ladies." he said in his most charming manner. They giggled appreciatively. "Elvira, I really need a word. Do you mind?" he said sweetly. The giggling intensified.

"Yes, I do mind. I have nothing to say to you." she said not looking at him.

"I'll do the talking then." he said with a little more heat, and she felt him grab her arm. She groaned in frustration and got up. He nodded to the other girls as he exited the compartment, and when they closed the door behind them, the gang of giggling fools huddled together excitedly, whispering and looking at them.

"Come on, we can't privately talk here." Elvira said, motioning for him to join her into one of the train's lavatories. There were prying eyes everywhere on this train, and she really didn't feel like sharing this with everyone. The moment the lock clicked behind them, Draco was on her like a blood-thirsty leech. His lips were everywhere, and it took a minute for her to come to her senses and push him off.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" she screeched, wiping her mouth furiously with her sleeve. She glared at him, and he slumped back against the wall, looking defeated. This only fuelled her anger though.

"Oh, don't give me that look." she muttered angrily. She had no use for him being in one of his vulnerable moods, she wanted to be angry with him. He just stared at her.

"I had to do it. If he knew..." he trailed off. This sparked Elvira's anger even further.

"Oh, don't put this on him, we both know you're scared. Nobody knows you like I do, and it terrifies you. So don't even try.." she was cut off by Draco kicking the waste paper basket under the sink.

"Do you not understand what he's capable of?" he hissed back.

"Do _you_ not know what _I'm_ capable of? " she growled back, not the least bit scared of the Dark Lord at this very moment, and very much wanting to crush Draco's pretty face into the wall. "You could at the very least have warned me." She added, glaring angrily at him.

"And how would that have looked if someone saw that letter?" he asked, sounding as though he was humouring her.

"Oh, I don't know, like you were telling one of your friends about your girlfriend?" she replied acidly. He looked dumbfounded, as if that thought hadn't even occurred to him. Rationally she might have understood that having the Dark Lord as a house guest made you more than a little paranoid, but right now she was still so angry, so disappointed. He opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a hand, silencing him.

"It's really none of my business. You do whatever you want, and whom ever you want. I'm done. I've put up with your crap for years, and I won't be manipulated any more." she unlocked the door, and was just about to leave when she heard a low voice speak.

"I never manipulated you." it said, almost inaudibly. She closed her eyes, her hand on the handle. She suddenly felt exhausted. She turned around slowly and he looked so small and vulnerable that all the anger she'd felt only seconds prior disappeared.

"Then what the hell are you doing?" she said in a strained voice.

"Protecting you." he whispered, not meeting her eyes. She looked at him, and blinked. She opened her mouth several times to speak, but she couldn't find the words. It was absurd. Whenever they talked about anything that went deeper than what they'd had for dinner, she always felt like he was hiding something from her, like he didn't feel like he could trust her and now he was suddenly being protective and sweet? She found it hard to believe, but at the same time it felt like she saw something of him that his father hadn't managed to stomp out of him or train him to hide. The train jerked suddenly and Elvira toppled over him. She'd caught his left arm when she fell, and he screamed out.

"Don't be so dramatic, I didn't hold you that hard." She said as he gently stroked his arm, muttering. She rolled her eyes until she was hit with a sudden realisation. Her eyes widened. She grabbed his left arm again and pulled it towards her. Before he could even protest, she pushed up the sleeve.

"No!" She whispered. There, on the pale white skin was something horrible, something between a burn and a tattoo, something she'd seen a faded form of on her fathers arm. The Dark Mark.

"I..." He started, but she cut him off.

"Why!? How could you possibly be so incredibly stupid? What does he want you to do? What have you done for him?" She said frantically, looking at him. He looked away.

"You know I can't tell you that." He said quietly. She stared at him in disbelief as he pushed his sleeve back down.

"Why?" She repeated, calmer this time.

"Somebody had to be punished for the mishap at the Ministry, and as my father is in Azkaban, he chose me." He said, still not looking at her.

"And he said he'd go after you if I refused." He added, once again barely audible. She closed her eyes and slumped against the wall. This was too much.

"Then you should have let him." She said. His eyes widened and she sighed.

"You know as well as I do that you've given him valuable information, for free. With him around emotions are dangerous weapons of mass destruction." She said, trying to keep her frustration hidden.

"Well, I didn't plan on it to happen! It just slipped out of me." His tone told her she had been unsuccessful.

"What does he want you to do?" She asked again, knowing she wouldn't get an answer.

"I can't tell you. And even if I could, I wouldn't. If you get caught up in this now it will render my actions useless." He said with a sad smile.

"For Merlin's sake, Draco, when did you become the hero? I'm a pure blood witch, he would have done anything he could to keep me alive so he could spawn more pure blooded babies! I would have been as close to safe as anybody could be! I'm not the one who needs saving!" She was being very insensitive, and not at all grateful, but it was true.

"And you don't think that's bad at all? Having to sleep with whom ever he sees fit, mothering the children of the highest bidder?" He snapped back, looking furious.

"Of course I do! But I'm not too keen on you dying to save me either!" She bellowed.

"I didn't mean to..." He muttered stubbornly.

"And what is that supposed to mean? You accidentally volunteered to be branded for life?" She snorted.

"Yes." He said simply.

"Care to elaborate?" She was getting tired of beating around the bush. He sighed dramatically and busied himself with a loose thread on the curtains.

"If you must know, I might have panicked when he threatened to go after my 'pretty, little friend'." He muttered, a pink tinge creeping up his cheeks. Was he blushing? It was entirely inappropriate in a situation of this severity, but Elvira's heart did a funny little jump, and she couldn't contain a small smile. Her thoughts were rudely interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

"Will you hurry up? There's a line forming out here." They looked at each other in horror. They both recognised that voice as Pansy. Elvira quickly locked the door again.

"Move to the next one, I ate some trick candy, and I don't think any of you would appreciate coming after me." Elvira called back. They heard giggling outside the door.

"We know you're in there with someone, we heard you talking." said Pansy's smug voice. She leaned in closer to Draco, to make sure he could hear her. He misunderstood, though, and wrapped his arms around her.

"Is this really the time?" She hissed exasperatedly. "We need to figure out what to do, I don't think she'll let me survive this time if she finds me in here with you." This had no effect on him, however, he just kept looking at her.

"You're impossible..." She sighed, but she couldn't quite keep the smile on her face from growing. Pansy knocked again.

"You can't stay in there forever!" She said in a sing-song voice. Elvira silently thought what on earth it was about that girl that always left her locked in a toilet in hiding. She started frantically checking her pockets to see if she had anything that could help her, even if she knew she didn't. Her hand graced her necklace, and she got an idea.

"We'll tell her I was helping you with a gift for her, her birthday is coming up. Give her this." She said, pulling off her necklace and handing it to Draco, who looked confused.

"Are you sure?" He asked and she nodded. She knew he wasn't asking about the necklace, but rather if he should keep up the act with Pansy.

"Of course I am." She said, just as Pansy knocked again.

"Fine, fine, we're coming, but you'll ruin your surprise!" Elvira said, and Draco gave her a last, soft kiss before she unlocked the door again. It was swiftly yanked open, and Pansy stared at them in shock.

"That's a terrible surprise." Muttered a Hufflepuff girl who stood a couple of heads down, barely containing a laugh. Elvira just grinned.

"Oh, relax, I was just helping him with your birthday gift. It's next month, isn't it?" She said sweetly to Pansy, who broke into a wide smile. Good grief, she was gullible.

"I want to see it!" She said, throwing herself at Draco. It took all of Elvira's will-power not to drag the stupid bint away by her hair, but she kept her smile plastered on as Draco pulled the necklace out of his pocket. It was a silver chain with a silver claddagh pendant. Pansy squealed delightedly.

"Oh, Draco! That's so romantic!" She simpered and threw her arms around his neck. Draco looked miserable, and Elvira smirked at him. Serves him right for trying to save me.

"Well, I'll be going then, my job here is done!" She said, and without another glance at them, she went back to her compartment.

Elvira burried her face in her hand. My Goodness, that boy sure knew how to be an idiot. She didn't know the details of it, but Draco was gesticulating wildly several seats down, and when Harry Potter came into the hall with blood all over her face, it didn't take long for her to connect the dots.

When the feast ended, Elvira rushed towards the dungeons and the Slytherin common room. It wasn't until she got there that she realised no one had given her the new password.

"It's 'emerald'." Blaise Zabini came walking down the hallway, looking questioningly at her.

"Ran out of old Pure blood names, did they?" She snorted and gave the wall the password. She walked inside, Zabini right behind her.

"Can I help you with something?" She said heatedly as he sat down in the chair across her, and kept looking at her.

"Just wondering what happened with you and your bestie." He said, smirking. She was unimpressed, she was used to Draco's smirks, and no one could out-smirk him.

"Not that it's any of your business, but everyone knows what Pansy feels about me." She shrugged. She really wasn't in the mood for this.

"So, does that mean you're up for grabs then?" He said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Oh, sod off." She replied and got up to hide in her dorm. If she hurried she might have enough time to change so she could pretend to be asleep before Astoria came and tried to get more information out of her. Just as she reached the door to the girls dorms, Draco and his entourage of idiocy entered the common room. She gave him a sad smile, and disappeared through the door.


	7. Chapter 7

**And we're back again! **

**First off I would like to thank all my reviewers. It really means a lot to me that you take time out of your day to read and review my story! There's two in particular though, you've review several chapters now, and you're always so sweet! I keep meaning to thank you by PM, but I'm ditzy, and I forget stuff. So, special shout out to Sorami Hayashi and xXMizz Alec VolturiXx for being my most loyal reviewers, and for making me smile with your kind words. **

**This chapter is also going to be a long one, ****covering a large part of the first half of Elvira's 5****th**** year. Slight Harry bashing ahead, but nothing major. **

Elvira didn't speak to Draco for weeks after they returned. With his homework and the job he was doing for the Dark Lord, he was busy enough as it was, and with Pansy demanding his full attention when he did finally appear in the common room, Elvira figured it was best to just stay away. She'd noticed the change in the 6th years though, and she was certain her brother and Gregory was helping Draco with what he was trying to do. Her brother had always been less inclined to think for himself than she was, but this was getting silly. She supposed that's how the old nutter worked though, get them when they're young and gullible. She had never declared her allegiance to the Dark Lord, she'd just kept her mouth shut. She didn't agree with him, and she didn't agree with her father and brother for serving him. And she certainly didn't agree with Draco taking the mark. But the safest thing was to just keep her mouth shut and her head down. The Gryffindors would have called her a coward, but she considered it looking after herself and those she cared about.

She had gotten to talking with another boy in her brother's year, Theodore Nott, who shared her view of things. His father was a devoted Death Eater, but he had never seen the appeal, also being someone who didn't take well to being used to do other's dirty work. He had informed her that the majority of Death Eater children felt the same. They had seen how it affected their families, and perhaps most importantly how outnumbered the Dark Lord's followers really were. There was no denying that most of the Death Eaters were former Slytherins, but Theodore had told her about a few in Ravenclaw, and one from Hufflepuff that he knew had Death Eater parents. He thought there might even be one in Gryffindor, but he wasn't completely sure about that one. The only difference was that the Slytherin housed the few that were proud of it. As if on cue, Draco and his gang came strutting into the common room. No one dared voice their misgivings about the mission everyone in Slytherin knew he'd gotten. Pansy had been hinting at it left, right and centre, talking about how proud she was of him. Elvira had to admit he played the part exceptionally well, even she had started to dislike him. But when she saw the strain it was already putting on Draco, she softened a bit.

"He's been having nightmares. We just act like we haven't noticed, but he wakes up screaming sometimes." Said Theodore quietly, following her gaze, seeing who she was looking at.

"It's disgusting, getting a 15 year old boy to do your bidding, just to punish his father." Elvira whispered back. She hadn't told anyone about Draco's confession about protecting her, and she wasn't going to. It was too personal.

"Yeah, but that's what he does. He manipulates people. I don't reckon he expects him to survive this one. It's just a form of slow torture." He said with a grim look on his face. Elvira felt sick. It's not like she hadn't thought about it herself, but hearing someone else say it made her feel uneasy.

"Has he told you what he's supposed to be doing? I've tried worming it out of Vincent, but he takes this very seriously and won't give me anything." She said, not noticing the looks they were getting from both her brother and Draco.

"Not in detail, but I think he's supposed to kill someone. They've talked about curses and poisons." He said, the dark look on his face turning ever darker. That wasn't helpful at all, she'd assumed that much for herself.

"Elvira, a word?" She jumped, she hadn't even noticed Draco coming. She turned around, and he looked annoyed. What was it now? She got up and followed him out of the common room. Draco cast a silencing charm around them and just stood there looking at her for a moment.

"Well, that looked awfully cosy." He said angrily. Elvira rolled her eyes.

"You're one to speak, snogging Pansy all over the place." She growled back.

"That was part of the plan, I don't remember you and Nott getting together as being part of the plan!" He hissed. Was he jealous? She pushed the thought out of her mind, it didn't matter.

"We're not together, but as most of the people I used to call friends are now busy trying to kill people, I had to find someone else to talk to, didn't I?" She spat back.

"Who told you that?" He said, eyes wide.

"I just assumed, based on his less than friendly track record." She replied acidly. A gang of 3rd years came walking down the hallway, and Draco grabbed her arm and pulled her towards an empty classroom, locking the door and re-casting the silencing charm.

"I don't like the way he rubs himself against you." He said looking angry.

"For Merlin's sake, he's not a dog in heat! We were talking. Besides, you're supposed to be playing house with Pansy, you can't go around glowering every time I talk to another guy." She said heatedly.

"I told you, I'm trying to keep you alive, and your womb uninhabited!" He yelled. Elvira snorted.

"My womb uninhabited? You sound like such an idiot sometimes, do you know that?" She said, taking one of his hands. He smirked and entwined his fingers with her.

"I'm worried about you, Draco. You look terrible and you're hardly eating." She said silently, looking at him.

"I look as great as ever, thank you very much!" He said, but without his usual confidence. Elvira smiled sadly.

"Drop the act. It's just the two of us here." She said, without heat. He sighed and took her other hand, meeting her eyes for the first time.

"What do we do now?" He asked silently. Elvira sighed and looked down. She didn't want to say it, but she had to.

"You keep up the act. If you stop it now he'll know it was just to throw him off. I wouldn't put it past him to kill all three of us simply for lying, even if it was just about something as insignificant as this." She whispered. She hated seeing him with Pansy, but even as annoying as she was, Elvira did not want her to get killed because of this.

"It's not insignificant." He said defiantly.

"It is to him, Draco." She replied with another sigh.

"And you? What are you going to do?" He said apprehensively.

"For the time being, nothing. He's not really paying much attention to me I reckon, with my brother being a good boy and all." She said and he seemed relieved by that. It was all so surreal. Draco Malfoy, jealous because she talked to another boy, affectionate and protective. It just seemed wrong, but she decided not to say anything. Wars did funny things to people. She gave him a small smile.

"And what about us?" He asked, looking away as though embarrassed to have asked such a thing. He probably was, come to think of it.

"You know the answer to that." She said sadly. He nodded and they fell silent. After several minutes of just standing there, holding hands, Elvira finally plucked up the courage and stood on her toes and pressed a small kiss to his mouth. It was the first time she had kissed him, and it made her sad to think it would probably be the last time. He sighed contentedly and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her again, and this time it was more than an innocent peck. Elvira's head was swimming with thoughts as she stood there kissing him, but they were mostly sad ones. Would this even be happening if Draco hadn't been forced to serve the Dark Lord? He hadn't taken the mark when he kissed her the first time, but he could have known he was going to. And he could be using her in the very same way he said he used Pansy. Was he even forced to take the mark? She broke away after a while.

"We should go back, Pansy is probably panicking." She said, a strange mixture of giddiness and sadness in her voice. He nodded again, and turned around to undo the charm and unlock the door. Just before he walked away, he turned around.

"I'm sorry it took me so long." And then he disappeared.

"I'm sorry it took us both so long." She whispered into nothingness, and then she went back to the common room.

When she came back in, Pansy had glued herself to Draco's arm again, and was chatting happily about how an annoying Ravenclaw girl had gotten a terrible outbreak of pimples. Elvira headed over to Theodore, who sat reading a book. She plopped down on the sofa next to him.

"Spill." He said, closing his book.

"Excuse me?" She said a little too innocently.

"You two are being about as discreet as a cave troll. The only one who can't see it is Pansy, and I reckon she's choosing to ignore it for her own sake." He said, grinning at her. She glared back.

**"**Oh, shut up." She said, but she let herself smile a little when she saw Draco glaring angrily at Theodore. He followed her gaze, and gave Draco a teasing little wave. Elvira grabbed his hand and pushed it down. Apparently that was the wrong thing to do, because Draco got up and stormed off to the boys dormitories.

"Was that really necessary, Theodore?" Elvira asked, as he laughed.

"Call me Theo, Theodore sounds so formal." He said grinning wildly.

"Fine, just don't be such an arse." She said, smirking slightly.

"I can't help it, he's so dramatic and it makes for great entertainment." He answered. Elvira couldn't argue with that, so she kept quiet.

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"Miss Crabbe, I want a word with you." Professor Snape said in a low voice one day as the class was packing up their potions supplies. Elvira groaned inwardly. She couldn't remember doing anything wrong this time. The rest of the class filed out, and she walked up to the professors desk. He cut straight to the chase.

"What is going on between you and Mr. Malfoy?" He asked, staring at her.

"Nothing, Sir." She said, trying to keep the anger out of her voice. What business was it of his, anyway.

"Don't lie to me." He hissed dangerously.

"I'm not and you know it." She said, with far too much heat.

"You may refer to me as Sir or Professor. And I know about you two." He said, staring daggers at her. She didn't care though, she'd had the worst week she could ever remember having, and her patience was wearing thin.

"Then why did you even ask, sir?" She said. She was pushing her luck, and she knew it. He kept looking at her, and when he spoke, he had clearly changed tactics.

"The two of you are playing with fire, and in order for me to help you, I need information." He answered, not exactly kindly, but as kind as he'd ever heard him sound. She wasn't sure if she could trust him with this, as she wasn't sure which side he truly belonged to. She decided on giving him a slightly altered short version.

"We decided not to see each other, with all that's happening we figured it wise not to get too attached." She said with a shrug.

"I shall make it a little easier for you to be truthful, Miss Crabbe. I know you know about the mark, and I was there when he took it. I also know about his little vacation at the Crabbe manor. So maybe you would like to start over." It wasn't a question. She sighed.

"Fine. Over the summer he decided to use Pansy as a decoy, hoping the Dark Lord would take her instead of me should he fail whatever it is he's doing." She muttered, not looking at Snape. When you stripped away the trembling sweetness of confessions, it really sounded horrible. He raised an eyebrow.

"Well, that is extraordinarily foolish." He said simply.

"Very well, you are excused. But you will serve one detention tonight for your cheek. You shall report to me after your final class." He waved her off, looking annoyed. She got up quickly and hurried out, seething.

When she arrived for her detention later that day, she had half a mind to hex Snape. Standing in the potions classroom, scowling, was none other than Harry Potter. What on earth was Snape playing at, making her serve detention with him?

"The two of you will clean and polish these brass cauldrons." he said, motioning lazily over to a desk with about 15 cauldrons on it.

"You are not permitted to use magic, and you will not be excused until I find your work satisfactory. I will be back to assess your work in 1 hour." he continued, and with that he left the room with his robes trailing dramatically behind him. Elvira scowled.

"What on earth have you done to him? Snape never gives Slytherins detention." Harry said, looking at her suspiciously. She glared at Harry, and walked over to the brass cauldrons they were supposed to be polishing.

"Let's just get this done, I really have no desire to spend the night with _you_ of all people" she hissed.

"Oh, right, you must want to get back to helping Draco with his Death Eater duties." he spat.

"You really shouldn't go around making assumptions about things you know very little about, Potter." she said trying to keep her voice calm. He just snorted.

"Please, we all know what you and your prejudice Slytherin chums aspire to be." he said with another snort.

"You're one to talk, aren't you, Potter? For all your talk of Slytherin prejudice, you're not much better yourself." He was about to interrupt her, so she raised her voice slightly, making it perfectly clear he was not about to get another word in just yet.

"You and pretty much everyone else in this school have treated me like complete and utter crap for five bloody years, because I am a Slytherin, and my brother is Vincent Crabbe." She drew her breath and walked to stand with her nose an inch from his, before she continued.

"And not one of you stuck up Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, who've been blessed by the boy who effin' lived have ever bothered to notice that I have never, not once, called anyone a mudblood, that I have never initiated a fight, that I have never been as horrible to you that you've been to me." She paused to see if he would try and get another word in, but he just stood there, looking like an idiot, so she continued. After all, she would never get such a chance again.

"Furthermore" she began, as she poked him hard in the chest "You should not talk too loudly about other people walking around with their noses up. You can act the misunderstood hero all you want, but you are nothing better than my brother and his idiot friends. You and all the other Gryffindors decided I was worthless the moment you heard my name, just as Vincent decided Granger was rubbish when he heard she was a muggleborn. It's not as if you've ever stopped to look at the similarities. We also face the threat of our loved ones being killed; we are also in constant danger. We are not immune, you know, even if we have weak, idiotic fathers."She stopped to breathe again, feeling as though she'd run a mile. Harry stood gaping at her, speechless.

"Also, you are a reckless, childish twat, who never thinks about the consequences before throwing yourself into a situation that endangers both yourself and others, and while that might earn you pats on the back in the Gryffindor tower, it wont with me. Even if I don't run around making a fuss about it, I do care about other people, and I'm trying to keep those people alive. But as it is, I stand alone, I don't have Dumbledore and his order behind me, because none of you ever bothered to pay attention to those of us who doesn't go around shooting our mouths off. None of you bothered to notice that the majority of us never said we supported Him, you just assumed. Most of us we're raised in families where our parents made mistakes WE'RE forced to pay for. We are just kids, and we are being killed off for our parent's mistakes, and you lot don't even care, because we're Slytherins. " She was panting, enraged. Who the hell did he think he was anyway. He had no idea what was really going on.

"And one would think you would have some inkling of understanding for people being raised by lunatics, and appreciate the struggles of being truly alone." she added for good measure. Then she turned around walked back over to the cauldron, sitting down and rubbing it angrily. He came over and took a cauldron, and began rubbing it absent-mindedly. She was sure his silence wouldn't last long, but at least it gave her a moment of peace.

"Why don't you go to Dumbledore? He could help you." he said silently after about 20 minutes. Elvira just snorted, still angry.

"It's not me I'm worried about." she huffed. He didn't respond to that, and they remained quiet for the rest of their detention.

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Relief flooded her when she saw Theo sitting by the fire in the Slytherin common room. She really needed to see a friendly face right now. She slumped down next to him, dropping her book bag on the floor behind her.

"Thank Merlin you're here, you won't believe the day I've been having." She said, stretching out on the chair, rubbing her aching hands.

"Where on earth have you been? It's not like you to skip dinner." he said teasingly. She glared.

"I was serving detention for Snape. With Harry Potter." she said, putting her face in her hands to rub her eyes. When she looked up, Theo was fighting hard to suppress a laugh.

"What?" she snapped. He chuckled.

"You just rubbed dirty polish all over your face." he said, and he reached over, rubbing at her face with the sleeve of his robe.

"Ouch! Watch it, you're going to take my eye out!" she said with a laugh. He grinned.

"So, what happened in detention?" he asked, and she told him, with as much detail as she could remember. He guffawed.

"That's brilliant! Bet he didn't like that." he said, grinning wildly. It was strange spending time with someone who actually smiled.

"Actually, he didn't say much after that. I don't think he was expecting it." she couldn't help but grin back. It had been rather marvellous to take her frustrations out on him.

"I would have loved to see his face." he said dreamily. Suddenly a thought seemed to occur to him.

"How did you land yourself in detention with Snape, anyway?" he asked curiously. Potter had been right about one thing, it didn't happen very often for Slytherins.

"He wanted to talk to me about Draco, and I answered him rather rudely." she said, feeling exhausted. Theo looked at her sympathetically.

"Tell you what, you go get some sleep, and tomorrow I'll buy you a buttebeer. It's a Hogsmeade weekend." he said, smiling. She nodded and got up. Grabbing her book bag, she bid him goodnight, and headed for her dorm. She really needed a shower as well.

It was only after she got into bed that she started wondering if she had just been asked on a date. She decided she was probably over analysing the matter, and fell asleep not long after.


	8. Chapter 8

**Anyone ready for another chapter?**

**Sorami Hayashi: Since was being very difficult to work with when I went to answer your review, I will answer here. I'm so glad you enjoy this story so much! And I'm glad you appreciated the shout-out, it's not much, but I felt like you deserved a special little something for your loyalty and kindness =) **

**I keep getting carried away with my writing. I planned on stretching this chapter out over the rest of Elvira's 5th year, and I ended up writing nearly 3000 words about one thing, so this will be a very long chapter, but I wont finish her 5th year in this one, it would just go on forever if I did that. **

Elvira's calm about the situation with Theo didn't last long, however. When she was getting ready the next day Astoria approached her and started asking her all sorts of questions that was making her nervous. Before she could really wrap her head around it she was surrounded by the gang of giggling girls she'd shared a compartment with on the train, and they we're dressing her up and pulling her hair into ridiculous styles.

"No, no, no! This is all wrong, she looks like one of those questionable ladies who lurk around the entrance to Knockturn Alley!" said Astoria harshly, taking in Elvira's appearance. She was wearing a dress that belonged to Astoria, and it was far too tight.

"Why can't I just wear my own clothes? It's a blizzard out there, so it'll be covered by robes anyway." said Elvira, cringing slightly when she saw that her breasts were about to escape the confines of the tight dress, that belonged to a skinny girl named Millie. Why they'd even put her in a dress that small was beyond her.

"I think you're right." said Astoria, chuckling happily. Elvira had to work really hard to avoid rolling her eyes. It was all these people ever thought about, clothes, beauty.

When they finally released her, she hurried off, 5 minutes late. She saw Theo sitting in a chair by the fire, talking to Draco. Could she never catch a break? Draco would surely take it the wrong way to see her all dolled up for a trip out with Theo. When he saw her, Theo got up immediately, grinning at her.

"What on earth happened to you?" he said teasingly, and Draco turned around in his chair to look at her. His jaw went slack, and Elvira blushed. In the end they had decided that this really wasn't the season to be making a fashion statement, and just fixed her hair and make-up as best they could. Elvira's long, black hair was pulled up in a tight ponytail, with a strange kind of braid in it, looking shiny and beautiful. That had taken quite a bit of work. Her make-up was tastefully done, just some soft purples, which Astoria had insisted brought out the colour of her eyes. But as she'd only ever worn some to the Yule ball, it wasn't an everyday occurrence to see her this dolled up.

"Astoria and her little posse was positively delighted when they heard I would be going to Hogsmeade with you, and decided I needed a make-over." she huffed, feeling very uncomfortable.

"Well, you look great!" he said, still grinning. He stuck out his arm, and Elvira took it, sending Draco a small, apologetic glance, before they headed out of the common room. They stayed silent until they got on the path to Hogsmeade, and they were far away from prying eyes and ears.

"Why were you talking to Draco?" she said suddenly. She had planned on being a bit more discreet, but decided he'd understand what she was really after, anyway. He grinned again, and she silently wondered if someone had cast a very strong cheering charm on him, that refused to wear off. It couldn't be normal to be that happy all the time.

"I was mainly listening to him beating around the bush. I think he wanted to ask me if we were dating, but he never got around to that." he said, looking gleeful. He really did enjoy teasing Draco far too much.

"And what did you tell him?" she asked, looking at him sideways. His grin widened. Definitely not normal.

"Nothing, really, as he never actually asked. I might have hinted at some things though. You should have seen his face." he said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Elvira couldn't help but chuckle at that, but she was feeling confused again. Was he simply teasing Draco, or was Theo actually interested in her? She'd been so wrapped up in her denial of liking Draco, and then the kissing and the confusion that followed that she'd totally forgotten there were other boys to obsess over.

"What are you thinking?" he asked, interrupting her thoughts. She didn't want to tell him what she was thinking at all.

"Just that I think my ears are about to fall off from the cold." she said, not looking at him. He chuckled.

"You're a terrible liar." he said, and they were silent until they arrived at the Three Broomsticks. She found a table, while Theo was buying the drinks. When she got in there she saw Harry and his friends, and when their eyes met, he gave her a small, almost imperceptible nod. She nodded back and sat down, back facing him. That was odd. Could it be that the Gryffindor saviour had actually listened to her? She didn't dwell on the matter though, because Theo had just sat down, and was trying to unwrap himself from his long scarf. She laughed and reached over to help him when it got stuck in the fastening on his robes. He smiled at her. Still not normal...

"So, you didn't tell me why Astoria and her friends thought you needed some smartening up." he said conversationally, the mischievous glint reappearing.

"They asked me if I wanted to come here with them today, and I said I was going with you. You know what they're like." she said shrugging. He nodded and took a sip of his butterbeer.

"Oh, I know. I was cornered by your brother last night, after you'd gone to bed. He's always been such a charming lad." he said, and Elvira, who had just taken a sip of her own glass, coughed and spluttered.

"He did what!?" she asked, Theo moving over to thump her on the back.

"Relax, he just wanted to make sure I was pureblood." he said, his hand lingering on her back longer than it needed to. Elvira groaned in embarrassment at her brother.

"I'm so sorry. My dad told him to keep an eye on who I was dating." she said, daring another sip. Theo withdrew his hand, and it was only then that Elvira really noticed how long he'd kept it there. She looked away to hide her blush.

"No worries. I just find it amusing how so many people are taking an interest in our relationship." he said, looking around too. Relationship? What did he mean by that? Was he implying something, or was Elvira just being overly sensitive to his choice of words?

"You're drifting off again." he said, smirking slightly. Maybe he'd just said it to throw her off.

"Sorry. I'm just confused." she said, remembering how he'd called her lie earlier. She had no intentions of elaborating on that though, and to her relief he didn't ask her to. They sat there in silence for a little while, drinking their butterbeers and looking around at all the other students, Elvira saw Astoria and her friends arriving, and they waved at her, and whispered amongst themselves. They sat down at a table not far from them, and from the looks they were getting, she could have sworn they'd done it to keep an eye on them.

"Honestly..." she muttered, downing the last dregs of her drink. Theo smirked just as widely as ever, and leaned in to whisper in her ear. She could feel the blush creeping up her face.

"Pretend I've said something sweet and lovely, and let's hurry out of here. Give them something to gossip about." he said, meeting her eyes. She saw that mischievous glint again, and couldn't help but smirk back, turning slightly so the girls could see her. She picked up her robes and scarf, and dragged Theo by the hand towards the door. He barely had time to grab his robes, and before they left, she cast a glance over her shoulder, and saw the girls chatting enthusiastically. She smirked again and disappeared out into the cold. They laughed loudly as they threw on their robes.

"That'll keep them going for weeks." Elvira said as she wrapped her scarf around herself, pulling it up to cover her ears this time. Theo had managed to get his scarf caught on his fastening again, and Elvira helped him. He smiled down at her.

"Honeydukes?" he asked, and she nodded. They chatted happily as they walked into the sweetshop.

"It's on me." Theo said when Elvira asked him if he could grab her money bag out of her pocket, her arms laden with sweets. She thanked him feebly, and when they left the shop he offered to carry her bag. She was confused by his kindness. The people she knew were only ever this kind when they wanted something. Was he really just a nice guy, or was he expecting something? She looked questioningly at him. He quirked his eyebrow, still smiling. That smile...

"I'm not used to people being this nice." she said honestly, and he laughed.

"You better get used to it, because I'm always nice. It just comes with being a great guy, really." he said, and she smiled back.

"Is there anything else you want to do, or should we just call it a day and head back?" she asked, not wanting to stay out in this weather for much longer.

"We can just head back. I didn't have breakfast today, so I'm starving." he said, and they walked out of Hogsmeade, and headed for the castle. When they finally got into the great hall, shivering slightly from the cold, it didn't take long for them to realise something was wrong. People were whispering quietly amongst themselves, looking worried. They looked at each other in confusion, and started walking towards the dungeons. They wouldn't get any information out of any of these people anyway.

"Have you heard about the attack?" asked a 4th year when they came into the common room, still looking confused.

"Attack? What happened?" asked Elvira, Theo stiffening beside her.

"A girl in Gryffindor was attack on her way from Hogsmeade. Some sort of dark curse. People are panicking, considering everything that's going on outside of Hogwarts." she said quietly. Elvira looked at her in shock, and looked around. She saw Draco sitting in a chair, looking defeated and wringing his hands she was flooded by a sense of dread. He couldn't have. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned around to Theo.

"Let's get rid of all this, and meet back here in 5 minutes." he said, handing her her bag of sweets, and heading for the boys dormitories. Elvira kept staring at Draco for a few seconds before she shook her head and went to take off her robes. If he'd done this, she couldn't help him.

"You alright?" he asked, looking at her with concern. He'd dragged her out of the common room and they were standing in a hallway deep in the dungeons, where no one really came by. She stared blankly into space. She was alright, actually, and that shocked her. She should be feeling terrible, because she was sure Draco was behind it. But she felt fine. And she told Theo exactly that.

"I'm fine. I'm just confused, because I would have thought I'd feel miserable. But I don't." she said, blinking. He looked at her, as though searching for signs that she was lying, but he didn't seem to find any.

"Well, that's good, I suppose." he said, sitting down on the cold floor. She sat down next to him, still staring blankly ahead, waiting for some sort of emotion to arise. They remained absent, however.

"You know what? I'm not going to let him ruin our day. I've had a great time, and I don't want it all to be over-shadowed by this. Let's go get some lunch." she said, getting up and offering her hand to Theo to help him up. He grinned again, and she grinned back. After lunch they headed back to the common room, and Elvira was somewhat relieved to see that Draco had left. She had a feeling it might be harder not to feel worried or sorry for him if he was sitting there. They talked about everything, from food, to grades to family, played a few games of exploding snap and had great fun reading a dirty novel someone had left on the table. Elvira stretched and yawned. She wondered what time it was. As if he'd read her mind, Theo answered.

"Oh, wow. It's already 2 in the morning." he said, looking around. Suddenly they noticed that they were alone, and Elvira was suddenly very aware of how close they were sitting.

"Really? We should probably get to bed then." she said, getting up a bit too quickly.

"Yeah, I suppose." he said, not giving any signs he'd noticed her jumping off the sofa as if it had been set on fire. She looked at him.

"Thank you. I had a really great time today." she said, smiling shyly at him. He beamed back, still unnaturally happy in her opinion.

"Yeah, me too." he said. She leaned down and kissed him softly on the cheek.

"Good night." she said, and then she walked off towards the dormitory, hoping he hadn't seen her blushing, and hoping he didn't notice her legs shaking slightly.

"Good night!" he called after her, and she smiled to herself when she turned around just before going through the door, and saw the dazed look on his face.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Ok, what's up with you? You've been acting strange lately." Elvira looked at Theo. He'd been distant and strange ever since their trip to Hogsmeade, and after two weeks of his weird behaviour, she'd finally decided to talk to him about it.

"I've just been busy." he said, without his usual smile and avoiding her eyes. She narrowed her eyes.

"Don't give me that, you've been busy all year." she said, crossing her arms. He sighed and looked up at her.

"Fine, but I'm not doing this here." he said, glaring at the few people that looked at them. In retrospect she could have chosen a better time than lunch time.

"Good, now pass the stew." she said, slumping down next to him. He smiled slightly and gave her a bowl of rich lamb stew. She gobbled it down happily. He shook his head slightly, and went back to poking at his stew. After they finished, they went out into the entrance hall to go to their classes.

"See you tonight then." Theo said, granting her a half smile. It was some sort of progress, at least. Elvira waved and headed to the dungeons for the potions class.

When she got back to the common room that afternoon after dinner, he sat on the large sofa they usually occupied. Further progress, he had barely been in the common room at all in two weeks. She suddenly felt nervous. He looked up and saw her standing there, looking right back at him. She took a deep breath and with her heart hammering wildly, she walked over to him.

"Hi." she said, sheepishly. What on earth was going on with her?

"Hi." he replied. She sat down next to him, the feeling of nervousness doubling.

"So... What's going on?" she said, her eyes flitting around the room. He cleared his throat.

"Uhm... Well, after our trip to Hogsmeade, I had a chat with Draco." he said carefully. Elvira closed her eyes.

"And...?" she said, turning around to look at him.

"He wasn't happy. And I didn't want to get caught in the middle of it." he said, finally meeting her eyes.

"There's nothing to get in the middle of. Draco chose Him over our friendship." she said coldly. She was getting tired of Draco meddling.

"Really? Because he seems to think there's a lot more than friendship to get in the middle of." he said, wrinkling his nose.

"Well, there isn't. And since when does it bother you what he thinks?" she said. He was looking away again, and she was getting irritated.

"I don't. But it bothers me if you're in love with him." he said quietly. Elvira sat there staring blankly at him. She suddenly realised she must have sat like that for far longer than she thought, because he smiled sadly at her, and got up and left the common room. She blinked and suddenly came to her senses. She got up quickly, nearly stumbling over her own feet as she ran after him. She ran into him, as he was standing just outside the entrance to the common room.

"Don't do that! Don't just run away." she said, grabbing his face to make him look at her.

"I'm not in love with him. I love him, because he's my friend, but I'm not _in_ love with him. And if I'm going to be completely honest, I don't think he's in love with me either. He's confused and possessive because he trusts me." she said, still holding Theo's face. She meant it. She could have fallen in love with Draco, if the circumstances were different. If they'd been allowed to act like normal teenagers. But they weren't.

"And don't shut me out. I'm tired of people not telling me the truth." she said, no heat in her voice, but she kept looking him straight in the eyes.

"I'm sorry. I guess I got a bit carried away." he mumbled, running his fingers nervously through his hair.

"A bit." she said, smiling.


	9. Chapter 9

**It's me again! I believe I left you with a cliff hanger-ish situation last time, so let's just crack on! **

Elvira and Theo stood in awkward silence for a while, Elvira's head spinning furiously. She honestly didn't think she was in love with Draco, but what did she really know about love? He had been the first boy she kissed, and she had wanted more than just a few secret kisses. But now there was Theo, who wasn't afraid to tell her what he felt, that she could be with without the fear that he would get himself blown up in a mad mission for the Dark Lord. She liked him, a lot, and when she thought she'd lose him, she'd been afraid. But was it because he was her friend or because she _liked _him? She looked at him. His dark blonde hair sticking up at the back, his deep blue eyes averted. He really was rather handsome. She'd been to caught up in the whole thing with Draco to even notice that. Maybe if she kissed him? Surely that would give her a clue as to what she really felt about him. But that would be horrible if it was only friendship she wanted. Would it be this hard if it was only friendship, though?

"So... What do we do now?" Theo asked quietly, bringing Elvira out of her musings.

"What do you want to do?" She asked.

"Should be pretty obvious." He said, and his smile was back. It was a teasing one this time. And with that, Elvira made her decision. She quickly closed the gap between them and kissed him. He smiled against her lips and wrapped his arms around her. Loud giggling suddenly filled the corridor, and a gang of 4th year girls hurried past them and into the common room. Theo smiled down at her, it was the widest smile she'd gotten yet, and she wondered if it hurt to smile like that. But she smiled back.

"Wanna go somewhere more private?" He said, wagging his eyebrows. She nodded and they continued down the hall to the abandoned classroom she'd been in with Draco. This didn't cross her mind at all, however, as she kissed Theo again, less innocently this time.

After what felt like hours, they decided it was time to head back to the common room. Holding hands they walked down the corridor, Theo stopping just before they got to the hidden entrance.

"We don't have to tell anyone, if you don't want to. I know it's hard for you and..." She cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

"Don't be silly, we've done nothing wrong. And I'm pretty sure those 4th years have spread the word already." She said grinning, and he grinned back. He gave the password and they walked in, holding hands. No one looked surprised at all, which confirmed her suspicions about the 4th years. Elvira caught Draco's glare out of the corner of her eye, and ignored it. She would not let him ruin this for her, he had his chance.

"Unfortunately, I have some homework I need to get done, so I can't give you my undivided attention." Theo said, frowning.

"That's alright, I have a couple of essays to do as well." She said smiling. He was rubbing off on her, she felt far too happy.

"I just need to get my books, I'll be right back." He said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek, obviously not believing that she was completely OK with their relationship being public. She would need to do something about that, she thought as she headed over to her book bag, which lay forgotten by the sofa they had sat on earlier. A frightened first year jumped out of the sofa and hurried off when she got closer, and she didn't have time to tell him it was alright before he'd disappeared into the boys dormitories. She slumped down on the sofa just as Theo reappeared. He sat down next to her, and she leaned over and kissed him.

"I told you it's fine." She said when she pulled away, and they got to work on their assignments, their hands touching far more than usual, casting glances at each other. This was how it was supposed to be, not hiding away in lavatories Elvira thought to herself, still smiling.

She finished her homework before Theo, and curled up on the sofa, her head resting on his shoulder. She must have dosed off, because she woke up much later, with a blanket wrapped around her. She looked around dazedly and saw Theo asleep on the other sofa. 'Always the gentleman, eh?' She thought to herself, smiling. She got up and walked over to him, kissing him lightly on the cheek. It felt like they'd been together forever.

"Theo." She whispered, shaking him slightly. He opened his eyes and smiled.

"Hi." He asked, yawning. Did you sleep well?"

"I did. But we should really get to bed, it must be morning soon." She answered.

"You're probably right." He said, sitting up. He stretched and then he stood up. They walked over to the dormitory doors together.

"Good night then." She said, and gave him a soft kiss.

"Good night." He said, smiling.

As Elvira got into bed she smiled to herself. She should have done this sooner.

Days passed quickly at Hogwarts after that. The Christmas break was coming up and Elvira was unsure of what she was going to do. Theo would be staying, and while she wanted to stay with him, she also wanted to see her mother. Her mother had never been directly involved in any of the Dark Lord's business, because she wasn't expected to. She was just expected not to tell any outsiders about what her husband was up to. She was also very intelligent, though she rarely got any use for it being held back by pure-blood traditions. While Vincent had never had much interest in learning, Elvira had loved the times she and her mother had spent reading together. So she'd made a plan so that she could get all she wanted.

"Really, there's no problem, I won't be mad at you for wanting to spend Christmas with the non-crazy part of you family." Theo said one day Elvira had brought up the issue.

"But I'll feel bad for leaving you here." She whined.

"And you'll feel bad for not going home to your mother." He said knowingly, with a small grin.

"Then why don't you come with me?" She asked. She'd tried to find a good way to ask, but she didn't know how to approach the matter. The look on Theo's face made her regret not thinking of it sooner.

"Do you think she'd allow it?" He asked, looking hopeful. Elvira smiled broadly. It hadn't been easy, she'd sent several letters and had even persuaded Snape to let her use his fireplace to talk to her mother, but she had finally convinced her. She'd felt a bit guilty for using Theo's dead mother as leverage, but she thought it was what had finally done the trick. Her mother had known Mrs. Nott, so she had agreed when Elvira said Mr. Nott was in prison.

"She's already said yes." She said and her smile widened even more when she saw the one Theo gave her.

"And when were you planning on telling me about that?" He said, putting down his quill at last and moving to put his arm around her.

"She only agreed last night, and I could hardly barge into your dorm to tell you, could I." Elvira answered leaning into his arm, grinning.

"I can't see why not." he said, stroking her hair. It was strange. Their relationship felt so natural. She'd thought about it many times, after the night they'd first kissed. There really was no work or drama, it was just nice and it felt good.

"So, what do you want for Christmas?" she asked, sitting up to look at him.

"I've already gotten it." he said, kissing her innocently on the forehead. She blushed. He always said these sweet things, and she hadn't quite gotten used to it yet.

"There must be something else." she said, trying to hide her blush. He leaned in and whispered something in her ear and her eyes widened. She had not expected that. She blushed furiously and Theo laughed.

"Relax, I'm only kidding." he said, and she hit him on the arm.

"Idiot..." she said, shaking her head.

"So, when are we leaving?" he said, still grinning.

"The day after tomorrow. Mum will meet us at the train station in London." she said, getting up. It was late, and she needed to discuss something with Astoria.

"Alright. You going to bed?" he said, and she nodded.

"Yeah, I'm knackered. See you tomorrow at breakfast?" she said, leaning down to kiss him. He nodded, and she smiled.

Two days later, they clambered off the train in London. They had chosen not to share a compartment with Vincent and his friends, not being in the mood for their glaring. Elvira saw her mother standing to the side, looking for them. She hurried over, Theo right behind her. Her mother smiled warmly at them. She looked healthier, happier, now that her every move wasn't being controlled by Elvira's father. She hugged her mother tightly, and turned to Theo to introduce them. Her mother walked over and gave him a warm hug as well.

"Theodore! It's so nice to see you." she said kindly. Theo nervously patted her on the back and looked bewildered. He probably wasn't used to this kind of affection. Elvira's father didn't allow it either, but her mother had always been warm and gentle, when he wasn't looking.

"Please, call me Theo, Mrs. Crabbe." he said, and he looked somewhat relieved when she let go of him.

"Oh, let's have none of that, it makes me feel so old. It's Ada." she smiled warmly at him. She turned around to look for Vincent.

"I guess I should have told you. My mum is brilliant. Especially when my dad's not around." she grinned at Theo. He smiled back.

"I noticed." he said.

"Vincent!" her mother said, and waved frantically. Elvira had never seen her like this. She was usually very different when her father was not around, but this was sort of unnerving. Maybe the freedom had gone to her head? Vincent stomped over, looking sour. Her mother ignored it and gave him a hug as well, and he looked just confused as Theo. Vincent never really saw the warmer side of her, because he was usually too busy following in their father's misguiding footsteps.

"Shall we get going then?" she said, clapping her hands together and smiling widely. Elvira had to suppress a laugh when she saw the befuddled look on her brothers face

"Yes, please!" Elvira replied enthusiastically, and they headed for the exit.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi again! I'm so sorry for the long wait! I really have no better excuse than "I was busy.", so I apologise!**** I'm really going to try and update weekly, so from now on, if I don't upload a new chapter on Friday, feel free to harass me until I do. I've just started writing chapter 11, and if I can finish it before next Friday, I'll upload it before then. And to the Guest user that commented earlier today, thank you for your kind words, and I'm so sorry for not updating sooner.**

**I know the last chapter was sort of strang****e, but t****his fanfic is sort of writing itself, I have lost all control over it. Seriously, I have no idea where my fingers are going with this. Major fluff and awkward writing ahead, You have been warned!**

The first two days of their holiday were mainly uneventful, except for Vincent's scowling whenever Theo was in the room. Elvira's mother was walking around the house, decorating and humming to herself, looking perfectly cheerful and content. Theo was the perfect gentleman, of course, never doing anything more risky than holding Elvira's hand when her mother was around. So she had practically jumped him in the hallway one evening, after her mother had gone to bed, and snogged him senseless. The next morning during breakfast her mother gave them some news that offered great potential in the drama department.

"Oh, and I've invited a few people over for Christmas dinner, by the way." She said happily while buttering a crumpet.

"Really? Who?" Vincent said, his mouth stuffed full of sausage.

"Well, we thought it would be nice to spend Christmas together, so I've invited Mrs. Malfoy and Mrs. Goyle. And your friends of course, Draco and Gregory." She said. Elvira froze, her hand midway to her mouth and Theo stiffened beside her. Of all the people in the world, and of all the times it could have happened.

"Anything wrong, Elvira dear?" Her mother asked, looking at her with concern.

"What? No, of course not. I'm just surprised. We've never really had guests over at Christmas." She said, forcing her face into a smile she hoped looked convincing.

"No, but I figured we could all use the company." Her mother said, sipping from her cup of tea. They finished the rest of their breakfast in silence. Of course her mother didn't know that what she'd done could potentially become a total disaster, but she could have run it past them first. She wondered how Draco had taken the news, and felt guilty at once. She should be more worried about what Theo would think. Mentally scolding herself, she motioned for Theo to join her into the library.

"You alright?" He asked immediately, and it increased her feeling of guilt.

"Yeah, I'm more worried about you." She said nervously.

"Don't be, I'll be fine. He won't make a scene with his mother around." He said, waving his hand dismissively.

"That's not what I meant." She mumbled, and he smiled. She couldn't help but give him a small smile back. He just had that effect on people.

"I won't cause a scene either, if that's what you meant." He said, moving closer, and wrapping his arms around her when he reached her. She sighed and put her head on his chest.

"Can you believe our luck, though?" She said, chuckling slightly. She added this to her growing list of things she loved about Theo. No scenes, no fuss. He was just calm and collected. She looked up at him, and he smiled down at her. She wanted to say something corny like 'you're perfect', but she just ended up gaping at him, hit with a sudden realisation.

"I just need to discuss something with my mother. Will you wait here, or should I come by the guest room?" She said, trying to keep her voice even.

"I'll wait here. I've got my eye on a book I'd like to flip through." He said, letting go of her. She nodded, and gave him a peck on the cheek before leaving the library as quickly as she could without being rude. She heard clattering in the kitchen.

"Mum?" She said, pushing the door open. Her mother turned around and smiled at her.

"Yes, dear?" Her mother said warmly. Elvira still couldn't help thinking about the difference in her mother, how she seemed to thrive without her husband there to keep her whipped.

"I need to talk to you about something." She muttered, suddenly feeling embarrassed. Her mother smiled knowingly, and motioned for her to sit down by the kitchen table.

"Uhm... Well... The thing is, I need some advice. Sort of." She said, not knowing how to say this.

"Go on." Her mother said kindly.

"How do you know if you love someone?" Elvira blurted out, blushing furiously.

"Hmm. I don't know if there's really any right or wrong answers to that. You just know. And that is probably the least helpful answer I could have given you, but I really can't explain it." She said, grabbing Elvira's hand and squeezing it slightly.

"How long have you and Theo been seeing each other?" She asked. Elvira was ashamed to admit she didn't really know. They'd never actually talked about being a couple, about boyfriend and girlfriend. They'd just sort of started kissing and holding hands. They had already been spending almost every waking hour together when that had started.

"I don't actually know. But we've been friends for a few months. Can you fall in love with someone without noticing? Because I didn't really notice much I liked him before we kissed, I just decided I wanted to kiss him." She said slowly, and her mother chuckled.

"Well, sometimes it hits you in the face like a bludger." She said, still chuckling, and Elvira got up.

"Thanks mum." She said, and smiled at her mother before leaving the kitchen, and heading for the library. On the way she decided she would try the same tactic as when she was trying to figure out if she had feelings for him. It had worked out alright that time, hadn't it. She felt so grown up all of a sudden, and chuckled to herself. Feelings and love and boys. She had never thought she'd be sucked into that trap so easily. She walked into the library and closed the door behind her, locking it for good measure. Theo cocked an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say what he was going to say, she pounced like a hungry tiger. He responded enthusiastically, and Elvira was thinking hard, trying to see if any new feelings popped up. After a while the air supply was wearing thin, she was using far more than she could get through her nose.

"What was that for? Not that I'm complaining, of course." He said, looking slightly dazed. She decided to tell him the truth, he always knew when she lied anyway.

"I'm trying to figure out if I love you. And since this worked when I was trying to figure out if I liked you, I decided I'd give it a go." She said. He blinked, his mouth slightly open.

"Well, did it work?" He said, a crooked grin on appearing. She grinned back.

"I think it might have." She said and kissed him again.

That night she decided she would give him part of his Christmas present early. When she heard her mother's bedroom door closing, she snuck out of her room, and tip-toed down the stairs to the guest bedroom. She took a deep breath, going through everything Astoria had told her in her head, and opened the door. The light was still on, and Theo looked up when she entered. She smiled slyly and closed the door behind her.

When Elvira came down for breakfast the next morning, her mother, Vincent and Theo sat at the table, drinking tea. She sat down next to Theo, who actually blushed when he saw her. She smirked to herself. That had never happened before. She made a mental note to send Astoria an owl and tell her thanks. Elvira had approached her a couple of days before leaving Hogwarts, asking for some tips on a gift for Theo. What she had given her instead were tips on how to "drive him wild without breaking the rules." Astoria might be simple-minded, but she did come in handy every now and then. Her mother winked at her over the rim of her tea cup.

"Shouldn't you have started cooking?" Vincent asked their mother suddenly, looking around the kitchen for a sign of the feast. Elvira glared at him. He could cook the damn food himself if he was getting hungry. Their mother only chuckled.

"No, dear. Narcissa is bringing the food. Apparently one of their house elves make a fabulous turkey." She said, sipping her tea. Elvira's stomach lurched at the thought of their guests.

"But I do have your presents ready, so let's open them after breakfast. I think you'll like them." She continued, smirking a bit. Somehow that made Elvira uneasy. They finished their breakfast quickly, anxious to open their presents. After the meal, they all hurried off to their respective bedrooms and fetched the gifts, before meeting back in the sitting room. Theo put his arm around her when they settled in the sofa.

"I really hope your mother doesn't ask you to show them the present you gave me last night." He whispered and Elvira laughed, snorting loudly. He grinned a crooked grin. Her mother came in, smiling happily, her arms laden with presents, Vincent sat glowering in another chair, looking as though being happy was an offence.

"Alright then! Who wants to go first?" Her mother said enthusiastically, clapping her hands together, after she'd dumped the presents in a free chair. Elvira and Theo looked at each other again.

"I'll start then, I'm so excited about this!" Her mother said before any of them really had time to reply. She handed Theo a long, thin box, wrapped in golden paper, smiling at him. He gently peeled away the paper and opened the box. His breath caught in his throat. It was a wand, made out of rich, brown wood, the handle delicately carved. Theo looked flustered and as if he might cry, but he was smiling.

"This looks just like..." He started, but he didn't seem able to finish the sentence.

"No dear, it _is." _Her mother said, smiling gently and Elvira's brain worked furiously to connect the dots.

"But how? Father said it was destroyed." He said, not taking his eyes of the wand. And Elvira suddenly understood.

"It was supposed to be. But I had a feeling it could come in handy some time." Her mother said kindly. Elvira just stared at her. As if on cue, Vincent decided to add some insensitivity into the situation.

"We done with that soon? I wanna open my presents." He grumbled.

"Shut up, Vincent." Elvira and her mother said together, and he looked so sour Elvira wondered if his face might get sucked in through his mouth if he kept it up. Theo got up and walked over to their mother and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you, Ada." He said, emotions still etched on his face. She patted him clumsily on the cheek, blinking rapidly.

"Oh, it was nothing. It was rightfully yours, I was just keeping it safe for you." She said. Elvira smiled at them, and when Theo sat down next to her, he grinned so brilliantly at her that she couldn't help but feel happy.

"My mothers wand." He said to no one in particular, still sounding slightly shocked and confused.

"Thank you." Elvira mouthed at her mother silently. She smiled back and winked. Elvira knew Theo's father had thrown out everything that had belonged to his mother, having been enraged that she had 'the nerve to leave him'. This was the only thing Theo had that had once belonged to her. He didn't put it away, and while they opened the rest of their presents he fiddled with it constantly, and looked down at it smiling.

The rest of the gifts weren't nearly as emotional and special, but Elvira was still satisfied with the haul. Theo gave her a silver necklace with the Goddess Pistis on it. He explained that she was the Greek Goddess of trust, and apparently Elvira means trustworthy. Her mother gave her a new dress and a couple of books, and Vincent gave her a cheaply made teddy bear. Far too quickly they were told to go and change into something presentable and prepare for their guests arrival. Elvira had half a mind to grab Theo and run, but thought better of it. She decided to wear the dress her mother had given her. It was a simple dress made out of thick, shiny fabric, with bell sleeves that almost touched the floor. It was dark green with silver piping, as you'd expect of an old Slytherin family. She looked at herself in the mirror, and she had to admit she looked great. She'd gotten past the awkward phase she'd had a few months back, where her hips grew to beastly proportions while the rest of her stayed just as small as it had been. She'd evened out a bit since then, and the dress seemed to hug her body in all the right places. She had decided to try wearing some make-up, but she gave it up pretty quickly. She kept blinking and prodding herself in the eye with a lethal-looking thing that she couldn't steer at all, but she had managed to get some of the gloppy, black stuff on her eyelashes, and that would have to be good enough. She brushed her hair, and decided to just leave it like that, having lost all her patience with the mascara. Her mother called for her to come down, and she hurried down the stairs, tripping on her long dress and slammed straight into Gregory Goyle as she skidded across the floor of the entrance hall. She didn't know that their guests had already arrived.

"Sorry." She mumbled, and Gregory grunted.

"Oh, you look wonderful, dear." Her mother said, smiling brilliantly at her. Elvira smiled back, and Theo walked over to her.

"Yes, of course, let's all get acquainted! Her mother said happily, and everyone shook hands, their mothers pecked each other on the cheeks. Gregory's mother was a strange lady. She was tall and thin, with an exceptionally round head that was almost perfectly round, a pudding bowl haircut and eyes that looked far too small for her head. She grunted a lot as well, and while Elvira's mother and Narcissa had told everyone to call them by their first names, she had just shaken their hands stiffly, and grunted. After all the greeting was over, Elvira deliberately forgetting to shake Draco's hand, they all walked towards the sitting room to chat politely before the meal. Theo put his hand at the small of Elvira's back.

"You look great." He whispered in her ear, and Elvira saw Draco glaring out of the corner of her eye. She smiled warmly at Theo, and gave him a tiny peck on the cheek. They all got settled in sofas and chairs, and Elvira finally looked up at Draco, thinking it would be suspicious if she ignored him all night, and her mouth nearly fell open from the shock. He looked horrible, almost as though he was dying. He had always been thin, but now he looked almost emaciated. His dark circles were darker than ever, and he twitched slightly. Elvira looked over at Theo to see if he had caught her staring, but his eyes were fixed on Draco as well, and he looked concerned. The women started chatting about nothing in particular, and Vincent and Gregory started whispering amongst themselves. Elvira looked at Theo, hoping he would understand. He nodded, concern still etched on his face. Elvira smiled gratefully, and stood up. She started towards Draco's sofa, but turned around again and leaned in towards Theo.

"I love you." She whispered quietly in his ear. She'd never actually gotten around to telling him that, but she wanted him to know now. He smiled brilliantly, and before he could say anything she walked over to Draco, sitting down next to him. He refused to look at her, like a stubborn child, his arms crossed.

"Ignore me all you want, but I won't go away." Elvira said, looking at him.

"I'm not ignoring you. I just figured you would be busy with your boyfriend." He said acidly. Elvira rolled her eyes.

"If I was busy with my boyfriend I wouldn't have come over here to talk to you. Stop acting like a child, Draco. We've been through this before, it might work with your mother, but it won't work with me." She said, without heat. He turned to look at her, and she was relieved to see he looked less haggard up close. Apparently the dim lights had made the shadows on his face look worse than they really were. He was just as thin, though.

"What do you want then?" He said, still looking like a child that hadn't been allowed to have ice cream for dinner.

"I wanted to talk to you. You were my best friend for years, I..." She was interrupted by Draco's snort.

"You betrayed me, and now you want to play nice?" He spat, looking almost crazy in the flickering candlelight.

"Betrayed you? Have you honestly convinced yourself that _I_ betrayed _you_!? You kissed me, ran off and the next time I saw you, you were half-way down Pansy's throat!" She hissed. At least he had the grace to blush slightly, but his face remained stony.

"You said you weren't his girlfriend." He muttered weakly.

"And I wasn't. But you couldn't expect me to wait for you forever." She said, still hissing.

"I would hardly call a couple of months forever." He said, looking away again. Well, he got her there. Things with Theo had progressed quickly, but she refused to feel guilty about being happy.

"Oh, so what did you want me to do? Tell my feelings for Theo to sod off until I knew you'd survive this crazy mission!?" She regretted the words instantly. His face looked as though that was exactly what he wanted her to do.

"Draco, I'm sorry. But if you really think about it, did you ever really like me like that? Are you sure you didn't just..." She trailed off, not really knowing how to finish that sentence. Draco turned towards her again, slowly and dramatically, looking hurt, angry and a million other things that usually didn't appear on his face.

"Am I sure I didn't just misread my feelings because we were friends? I don't know, Elvira, seeing as you've got some sort of insight I apparently do not share, maybe you could tell me if a _friend_ would..." He was cut off by a house elf announcing that dinner was served. Draco looked shocked, as though he'd almost said something he shouldn't have. A thousand things buzzed through Elvira's head as they all got up and walked out the door of the sitting room. She just stood there, staring at the back of the blonde head, completely lost in thought.


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm back! And depending on your time zone, I kept my promise about updating on Friday too... *shuffles feet ***

**The drama will start to pick up, because I'm just a complete sucker for drama. **

**Once again I want to thank my most loyal reviewers, ****Sorami Hayashi**** and xXMizz Alec VolturiXx, it always brightens my day when I see you've commented =)**

**But enough of this sentimental stuff, let's jump into the drama! This chapter is kind of short, but I really felt like I needed to cut it off there. The next chapter will be longer, I promise.**

"What happened?" Theo's concerned voice brought her back to reality.

"What? Oh, nothing really." She said, but Theo gave her a look that said 'don't give me that'.

"Fine. He's hiding something. I think he might have done something terribly stupid. For me." She said, the last two words barely audible. Theo looked at her and she snapped out of it.

"Never mind that. He had his chance, and he botched it." She said, and she meant it. Sort of.

"You are allowed to care about him." Theo said, his face uncharacteristically serious, and Elvira smiled at him.

"I know that." She said, and Theo cupped her face with his hand, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"You should try talking to him again later. But let's go get something to eat, I'm starving." He said, leaning down to kiss her. Someone cleared their throat in the doorway, and they looked up to see Narcissa standing there. She was looking at Elvira through narrowed eyes. Elvira had a feeling she would probably be having a talk with Narcissa too.

The Christmas feast wasn't very eventful. Everyone kept up a relatively cheerful front, and Vincent seemed to have developed some sort of hoovering technique when he ate, his food vanishing at alarming speeds. Draco was talking to Gregory, completely ignoring Elvira. Narcissa kept looking at her. She didn't look angry, she looked calculating, which, quite frankly, was a lot worse and Elvira couldn't wait for them all to leave. Unfortunately for her, luck was not on her side.

"Why don't you just stay until tomorrow? In this weather, I'd feel bad for making you leave." Elvira's mother said cheerfully to their guests. At least Draco and Theo looked as mortified by it as she felt. Their floo connection had been closed because of the whole Death Eater thing, so they would have to take a portkey or use side-along apparition. The problem was that portkeys required ministry approval, and side-along apparition wasn't supposed to be used unless it was an emergency. Of course, for Elvira this was an emergency. She needed Narcissa to get out of her house before she cornered her. Again, luck was not kind.

"Are you sure it wouldn't be too much trouble?" Narcissa said politely. Elvira was screaming on the inside that yes, it was too much trouble.

"Of course not, Narcissa! If Draco and Gregory doesn't mind sharing a bedroom? I'm afraid we only have 4 guest rooms." her mother said, smiling at the two boys. Gregory grunted and Draco said something cordial Elvira didn't pick up, as she shared a mortified look with Theo.

"Very well, we'll stay then. Thank you, Ada." she said, sounding as though she was doing them all a favour by bestowing her grace upon them for a few more hours.

"Vincent and Theo, you can help make the beds for Draco and Gregory? And if you could help get Narcissa settled, Elvira dear, I will help Bethany." Elvira's mother said smiling, and Elvira just nodded stupidly. She couldn't help but wonder if Narcissa had planned this. It was just too perfect. She gestured for Narcissa to follow her, and started walking up to the guest rooms. She decided to give her the one that was directly below her own bedroom, as it had the nicest view, hoping Narcissa would get distracted by the family of deer that had settled in their pavilion.

"Oh, this is nice." Narcissa said, and she actually looked sincere. Elvira took this as a bad sign.

"Yes, it's the room with the best view." she said sweetly, and headed over to the set of drawers in the corner to find bed sheets.

"I really do hope Draco didn't insult you earlier. He's been a bit distracted lately, I'm afraid." Narcissa said, looking out of the window.

"No, it's alright. I'm used to it." Elvira said as she started making the bed. To her great surprise, Narcissa helped her.

"Yes, he's quite fond of you, you know. And he was most distraught when he discovered your relationship with Theodore. I think we all were. We had quite hoped he would find someone more... Worthy... Than that Parkinson girl." she said, and Elvira didn't dare look up.

"Yeah, well.. He made his choice." she said, not wanting to continue with this discussion. She turned to leave, but Narcissa stopped her.

"Has he not told you?" she said, looking mildly surprised. Elvira shook her head. Narcissa motioned for her to sit down on a chair by the window, and she did.

Half an hour later she silently closed the door to the guest room behind her, feeling stunned. She stood staring at the wall for minutes before a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"I was beginning to think she'd killed you." It was Draco, and Elvira went from confused to angry as though someone had flipped a switch. She balled her fists and turned toward him. He wisely took a step back.

"How could you be so stupid!? How could you possibly... I.. Argh!" she threw her hands up and he took another step back. She was completely speechless.

"I guess she told you then." he said, trying to look indifferent and failing. He looked like something in between constipated and terrified.

"How the hell are you supposed to off Dumbledore? Are you completely off your rocker!? Did you think I would thank you? You... You... You twat!" she hissed. She was livid, absolutely livid. And terrified.

"Did she tell you what he said he would do if I didn't agree?" he said, and she was glad to see him fighting back. It was much easier to be mad at him when he was.

"She told me exactly what happened. You don't tell people like _him_ that you'll do _anything _to keep me safe, you idiot!" she spat, closing in on him, shaking with rage.

"What the hell did you expect me to do? He said he'd.." He was interrupted by a door opening and Theo coming out. She had completely forgotten they were in the middle off a hallway, leading to 4 occupied bedrooms.

"What's going on out here?" Theo said, frowning.

"Will you stop interrupting matters between me and Elvira? I'm getting tired of it." Draco said coldly, and Theo looked as though he'd been slapped.

"Shut up, Draco! It's not Theo's fault you keep making all the wrong choices." she said, and then she turned towards Theo.

"I'll stop by in a couple of minutes." she said, giving him a half-hearted smile. He nodded, gave Draco a glare Elvira didn't know he was capable of producing and shuffled back to his room.

"Listen, Draco. I don't care what he threatened you with, you should have kept your emotions out of it. And lay off Theo. You chose to use Pansy as a cover, which in itself is disgusting on more levels than one, and now you've just gotta suck it up and live with it. I'm don't want to be your dirty little secret." she said, some of her anger dissipating. She turned around to leave, but Draco reached out and stopped her.

"I can't die knowing you hate me." he said, his voice cracking.

"Then stop giving me reasons to." she said and walked off. It wasn't her finest moment, walking away from what had been her best friend while he was saying one of the only heartfelt things she'd ever heard him say, but she was tired of it. His heartfelt words were always too late.


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm terrible, I know.. I'm not going to bore you with silly excuses, just know that I'm sorry.. I'm going to change my update schedule from Fridays to Mondays, because that gives me time to write over the weekends and hopefully that'll be easier for me to keep up with. So, I'm posting this one now, and I'll post another one on Monday, as chapter 13 is halfway done. **

**Also, thanks to everyone who's followed and favourited and commented. It really makes my day :)**

Elvira was tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. She felt terrible for practically telling Draco she hated him, and she felt terrible for not telling Theo what Narcissa had told her. She didn't want him to worry, or for him to go off on Draco as well. Huffing, she got out of her bed and quietly made her way down one flight of stairs. She stood at the end of the hallway for a while before making her decision. She'd have time to talk to Theo in the morning. She tapped gently on the door. She was just about to knock again when the door opened quietly and Gregory grunted back at her. Great.

"I need to talk to Draco. Is he awake?" She asked irritably, and he grunted again before closing the door in her face. She sighed and knocked again, and this time Draco opened, looking sour.

"Yes?" He said coldly. She glared at him for a while, before turning to leave. There was no talking to him when he was in this mood. But she didn't really need him to respond, she only needed him to listen. So she turned back.

"Can we talk?" She asked, and Draco motioned for her to lead the way. She decided her bedroom would probably be the best option, seeing as the sitting room would be cold without someone there to keep the fire going. They walked up the stairs, and Draco hesitated slightly before following her into her room. She sat down on the bed, and nodded towards the large chair by the window, motioning for him to sit down in it. Draco ignored it, and sat next to her on the bed. She rolled her eyes, but didn't move.

"I'm sorry. I don't hate you. But you should have told me. It's kind of a big deal, you know." She said, not looking at him. He sighed.

"I know. But I didn't know how to tell you. And I didn't want Theodore to punch me. Or you to punch me either, for that matter." He said, trying to smile. It looked painful.

"Well, Theo probably wouldn't have." She replied, smirking at him. It felt strange and that made her sad. It shouldn't feel strange.

"I don't know what to do. I've known for months I probably won't survive this, but I don't want you to die because of it. And I don't know if my plan will work, it's taking too long!" He said suddenly, looking desperate. Elvira took a deep breath.

"What's the plan?" She said, sounding defeated. Draco looked up at her in shock.

"You'd help me?" He said, his mouth hanging open. She smiled. She had always loved it when he did something undignified.

"Yes. For your sake. For both of our sakes, really. Not for him." She said, her smile quickly fading. He told her about a vanishing cabinet that stood in the room of requirement, and it's twin in Borgin and Burkes. Apparently they made some sort of portal or something. But the one in Hogwarts was broken, and for the Death Eaters to get into the school, he'd need to fix it. Elvira frowned in concentration, trying to think.

"I think you're going about this the wrong way, Draco. You've been trying to fix it as a magical object. You need to look into magical gateways. Maybe you can remove and re-cast the spell that makes it a gateway. The cabinet is quite ordinary, it's the magic upon it that isn't." She said, still frowning.

"Why didn't I think of that? See, this is why I lo.. Like you.." He finished stupidly. Elvira stiffened slightly, but shrugged it off. It didn't matter. She got up, and Draco looked at her questioningly.

"The Crabbe library contains hundreds of years of magical knowledge that's barely been touched by anyone. I'd say it's a pretty good place to start, wouldn't you?" She said smirking again, and he nodded.

"You'll need more than just a silk pyjamas though, it's probably freezing down there right now." She added, and they agreed to meet down stairs when they'd changed. Elvira also wanted to talk to Theo. She felt bad sneaking around at night with Draco, without him knowing.

"Theo." She whispered, shaking him lightly. He sat up quickly, his hair sticking up, his eyes unfocused.

"What?" He said frantically. Elvira chuckled.

"Relax, I just wanted to talk to you. Or tell you something. Draco asked me for some help, and I just didn't feel right about it all without telling you. I don't want you to get the wrong idea or any..." She never finished her babbling because Theo kissed her.

"It's fine, as long as you explain it all to me properly tomorrow." He said, and fell back on his pillow. Elvira smiled, kissed him on the cheek and left the room. She assumed he wouldn't have been as understanding had he not been half-asleep, but she still felt better knowing she wasn't doing this in secret.

Draco was sitting in the library, on the same sofa he'd sat the night he'd kissed her. Elvira tried not to think about that, as she went over to the ladder on the bookshelves and told it to guide her to books about magical gateways. The ladder spun into action and 6 old looking books popped out of the shelves as she whizzed past, landing neatly on the desk by the window. She stepped off the ladder when it stopped, feeling dizzy. She hated that thing. It rarely got to do it's job, so it was far too eager. It quivered slightly in it's track, as though it wanted to go again. Stumbling slightly, Elvira headed over to the sofa, Draco was already on his way back from getting the books. He handed her three of them, and opened one of his own, his long, thin finger dragging down the index list. Elvira opened one of the three he'd given her, which was named 'Magical means of transportation'. She looked at the index as well. Floo networks, apparition, portkeys, broomsticks, various winged creatures. Nothing looked helpful at all, so she closed it and went on to the next one called 'Black holes, portals and gateways: the dangerous way to travel'. It looked promising, though the title made her slightly uneasy.

"This one looks good." She announced after looking through the index. She handed it to Draco, who started flipping through it, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"This is mainly theoretical, but I suppose knowing the theory would help. The author mentions a spellbook in the preface that is supposed to accompany this book, could you check if you have it? It's called 'Black holes, portals and gateways: the spells'." He asked, and Elvira went over to the ladder, stepped on it an asked for the book. It remained still, and a book flew out of the shelf right in front of her and hit her on the nose. Cursing loudly, she picked up the book and walked over to the sofa, where Draco was trying very hard not to laugh. She scowled and flung the book at him, flopping into the chair rather than the sofa. Draco buried his nose in the book, and Elvira sat there, looking at him.

"Draco?" She said quietly.

"Mhm." He answered, not looking up.

"Before dinner last night you were about to tell me something when the house elf interrupted..." She said, not really knowing if she wanted the answer. He didn't look up, but his nostrils flared slightly. He remained quiet for a long time, and Elvira was starting to get annoyed again when he spoke.

"It wasn't really anything you needed to hear. I..." He was once again interrupted, this time by Theo, who stumbled in, looking confused. Elvira looked up at him and couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. She stood up and pushed Theo into the hallway, not wanting any of them to start something.

"I only just realised you were in my room. Why are you helping him? You know who he works for, that could end badly for you." He said, looking sour. Elvira took a deep breath. She had decided on telling him anyway, so now was as good a time as any.

"Because Narcissa told me yesterday that the Dark Lord wasn't at all impressed with how slowly things were progressing. And that if Draco failed, He would kill me as punishment. And I'm not all that keen on dying, really." She said, biting her lip. She didn't dare look at Theo, but suddenly she felt his arms around her.

"Alright... Have you found a solution?" He said, sounding calmer than he should having just learned that his girlfriend might be killed by the Dark Lord.

"We think so. But we won't know for sure until we get back to Hogwarts." She said, burying her nose in Theo's pyjamas.

"Well, we should probably look at more options then, so we have a back-up." He said, letting go of her and walking into the library before she could stop him. Draco looked up from his book, quirking his eyebrow.

"I'm just here to help, so let's try and be civil, shall we? Now, tell me the plan." Theo said sternly. Draco nodded, and explained about the cabinets, the gateway and the books they'd found. Theo nodded in agreement.

"If we can't fix the cabinet, we should work on making a separate portal they could enter through." Elvira said when Draco finished, and he narrowed his eyes.

"We? We will do nothing. This is exactly what he wants. Once the two of you get involved, he can use that against you. So while I appreciate the help you've given me tonight, I can't allow you to help me beyond this." He said, and he looked rather impressive. Theo obviously did not agree.

"Well, you've dragged us into this, so we can't just sit by and watch." He said heatedly. Draco gritted his teeth.

"This isn't helping. We'll stay out of it, but let's make sure we have several good plans, in case some of them fails. And stop glaring at each other." Elvira said, then she walked over to the ladder again and asked it for books on Hogwarts, so she could see if she could find any other loopholes in the protection.

They worked all night, scribbling down facts and incantations for several plans. Elvira just made it to her bed before her mother knocked on the door, announcing that breakfast would be served in thirty minutes.


	13. Chapter 13

**So, here is chapter 13! I've had a really hard time writing this one, and that's one of the reasons why it's delayed. I just could not get it right.**

**Things are starting to pick up(in my head, that is) so the chapters will be longer after this one. This chapter begins a few days after the holidays, and it jumps a lot in time. I'm going to try my best to make it clear when things happen, but if you get confused, let me know! **

**Thank you to everyone who's read, reviewed, followed and favourited my story. It means a lot! **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's going to be a mad one!**

A few days had passed since Elvira, Theo and Vincent got back to Hogwarts after the holidays. Elvira hadn't seen Draco once since he'd left the Crabbe manor, and she was worried about him. She felt confused and dazed. Theo was being kind and understanding, which for once, didn't help one bit. She tried telling herself that she was just worried about Draco because they were friends, but she had a strange feeling she couldn't quite put her finger on. Maybe it was just because her fate was in the hands of someone who seemed to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Not that she blamed him, of course. She had no idea what on earth she was feeling, or who her feelings were directed at. She mentally shook herself and started picking at her cereal again. Theo looked worried.

"I'll talk to him in class today, ask him to come see you tonight." He said sadly. Elvira shook her head.

"No, it's not him. Well, of course I'm worried about him too, but I just don't like sitting around, not being able to do anything when I might... You know..." She said. It was partially true as well. And she really didn't want to see him, she was scared of her own feelings. She felt miserable. How could it be this hard to tell what it was that was bothering her? She should know!

"Well, I'll talk to him anyway. Ask how it's going." He mumbled. None of them were very feeling hungry at all, so they decided to take a brief walk.

"I'm sorry, Theo." She blurted out suddenly. There was so much she wanted to apologise for, but she had no idea how to do it. He stopped dead in his tracks, and stared at her wide-eyed.

"What do you mean?" He said uncertainly. She only just realised how bad it must have sounded.

"No, no, no! I didn't mean it like that! I'm messing everything up... I just meant that I'm sorry for being so moody lately. I'm trying to snap out of it, but I can't! And it has nothing to do with Draco. Not like that. I just... I don't even know. Why are you even with me? I feel like I'm making your life miserable all the time, and now I might die and everything's just wrong!" She screamed hysterically.

"I'm with you because I love you. But I didn't know what to think when you refused to talk to me. You've always told me everything, and my mind just started spinning on it's own when you didn't. And I guess it's just hard to believe you chose me over him." He said calmly, meeting her hysterical eyes.

"Well, I did choose you." She said, and he grinned his crooked grin.

"I'm sorry I'm such an idiot some times." He said, tentatively holding out his hand. She took it.

"You are not the idiot in this relationship. And you don't have to worry about Draco. I chose you." She said. The bell rang, and Elvira groaned. She was going to be late for potions.

-This is a line-

Time kept running away from her. Her OWL's were approaching far too quickly for her liking, and the strange feeling she had refused to back off. She felt as if she was constantly on the verge of tears, and one day when she and Theo overheard something that made her snap completely.

"Poisoned, apparently. Yeah, the ginger kid, Ron, that always hangs around Harry Potter. In Slughorn's office, I heard." Whispered a small, blonde girl from Hufflepuff as they were all pushing to get into the great hall. Elvira froze, and several people cursed and shoved her. She didn't notice, she just looked up at Theo, who was looking pale.

"That was not part of the plan!" She hissed, feeling frantic. Theo took her hand and led her back to the dungeons. She sat down on the sofa, feeling numb. Why on earth could that boy never be sensible!? Poisoning Harry Potter's best friend? Was he completely out of his mind? She was mildly aware of loud voices, and mentally shook herself. She saw Theo waving his arms, yelling at her brother, because he would not let him go up to the dormitory. And then she lost it. She sprang up and walked briskly over to them.

"Vincent, get out of the way!" She growled, pulling out her wand, nearly shoving it up his nose in her anger. He took a step back.

"I'm your brother!" He sputtered, and sparks flew from her wand.

"Right now you're an obstacle. So move over!" She yelled as more sparks made their way up her brothers nose. He yelped and moved out of the way, and Elvira stormed up the stairs to the 6th years dorms, and pushed the door open. It hit the wall with a loud crack, and a tired looking Draco sprang up off his bed.

"Will you stop messing things up!? You are playing with MY life here, and I don't appreciate the way you're handling it!" She hissed furiously. Every bit of anger, anxiety, confusion and worry she'd been feeling lately, seemed to have brewed inside her, making a deadly poison. The dam had broken. Draco sat down on his bed, looking stunned. Elvira's wand was crackling with tiny sparks.

"I'm sorry, I ju.." He started, and Elvira laughed a high-pitched, crazy laugh that didn't belong to her.

"You might as well poison the two of us! It would be faster and less painful than what he has in store for us! Stop acting like an idiot, and just do your damn job!" She screamed and then she stormed from the room, down stairs and ran straight into Gregory, who had just returned from lunch. He started on her, but she brandished her wand in his face, and without her saying a word, he sprouted large, fluffy rabbit ears. Theo looked at her wide-eyed.

"Theo, will you please take me to Madam Pomfrey, I think I need a calming draught." She gritted out through clenched teeth, and he nodded quickly as he lead her out of the common room.

-This is a line-

"There, that should do it. You're not the only one, you know, happens every year when exams are getting closer. You should probably send up here, though, so I can have a look at his... Ears..." Madam Pomfrey said kindly after giving Elvira a purple, bubbly potion. Theo sat beside her, still looking shocked.

"That was sort of hot." He said after a long, awkward silence. Elvira couldn't help but chuckle.

"I'm sorry. I just lost control." She said, taking a deep breath, feeling calm for the first times in weeks. Theo just smiled.

"Nothing to apologise for. Not to me, anyway. Just please tell me you didn't hex Draco." He said, his smile widening, as though he secretly hoped she _had_ hexed Draco. He probably did, come to think of it.

"I didn't. I just yelled at him. I have no idea why I got so angry all of a sudden. I just lost it." She said, suddenly feeling stupid. After everything, this shouldn't have shook her this badly.

"Well, I don't blame you." Theo said, taking her hand and squeezing it lightly.

"We should go back to the common room. I don't think anyone really wants to see a Slytherin up here right now, much less a Crabbe." She said and nodded towards the large divider that undoubtedly hid Ron Weasley. Theo nodded and they silently made their way towards the dungeon. When they got there, the common room was buzzing, and several people snickered when she entered. She looked over at her brother and Gregory, who was still sporting ears, and whiskers that Elvira hadn't noticed earlier, no doubt too scared to go to the infirmary while she was still up there. The second he saw her, he scowled, and hurried off. Elvira smiled slightly to herself.

"I just need a word with Vincent, I'll be right over." She told Theo and walked over to her brother, who was scowling, his nose looking red and raw, but not seriously injured.

"I'm sorry, Vincent. Exam nerves, I guess." She said, shuffling her feet. He looked up at her.

"S'alright." He mumbled, and looked away quickly. They had never been close, but he was still her brother. Even if he was stupid and mean and very much alike their father. She patted him clumsily on the shoulder and turned to walk away.

"He's really trying, y'know. Worried sick about you and all." He said and she turned to look at him.

"I know. Keep an eye on him for me, will you?" She said, and Vincent nodded stiffly. She smiled slightly at him, and made her way over to Theo.

-This is a line-

Things just kept getting worse, though. Elvira was feeling edgy and sullen most of the time, and the amount of homework didn't help much either. If it hadn't been for Theo, she would probably have turned all the Slytherins into rabbit hybrids. She was both waiting eagerly for and dreading the death eater attack, and she felt terrible for hoping they'd be here soon. But she didn't want to die. And she didn't want Draco to die. And she knew it was selfish, because letting them into the school might mean that others would be killed. So she was at a constant war with herself, going back and forth between hope and guilt. Theo was getting more and more distant as well, and Elvira just felt like everything was crumbling around her.

"Theo?" She asked carefully one day they were sitting in the common room, doing their homework.

"Hm?" He said, not looking up from his book. She took a deep breath.

"You know I.. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted out. I know I've been terrible lately and..." He cut her off with a look.

"I don't want out. Do you?" He asked calmly.

"No, of course not. It's just that I'm sure this isn't exactly what you imagined things would be like." She said, looking into his eyes. He'd changed since she first got to know him. He didn't smile as much and he seemed a lot more serious. And it was killing her. She felt so guilty for being the cause of that. As if he'd read her mind though, he spoke.

"It's not your fault. If this whole thing escalates, no one will be safe, and I reckon he'll go after all the Death Eater children, especially those of us who have remained neutral. So, I don't want out." He said. He sounded so mature and wise. Well, technically, he was an adult now. Elvira smiled at him.

"Good. I just wanted you to know I'd understand if you did. But I don't want you out either." She said, and snuggled closer to him. He kissed her on the cheek, his newly acquired stubble scratching her. She smiled to herself.

The next few weeks passed by in a blur of homework and internal war, but at least her relationship with Theo was going a bit better again. After a few weeks where nothing bad had happened, Elvira was getting edgy. She had a nasty feeling something was coming. And she was right. One afternoon when they were sitting in the common room, studying for a change, the entire common room went quiet around them. Elvira looked up and nearly yelped in surprise when she saw Snape standing before her, his robes dripping.

"Miss Crabbe, I need a word with you." He said menacingly, and she got up slowly, Theo rising too. Snape glared at him.

"I'm not going to hurt her, Mr. Nott, so sit down!" He looked positively livid, so Theo sat down again, looking worried. Elvira gave him a small smile and followed Snape out into the corridor.

"Draco's been attacked. He's in the infirmary, and has requested your audience. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go take care of his attacker." He said all this very quickly, and that alone told Elvira that this was very serious business. She ran as fast as she could to the hospital wing, bursting through the doors in a manner that earned her a stern look from Madam Pomfrey. She was hovering over a sopping wet Draco. He was deathly pale and covered in blood. Elvira whimpered slightly and ran over to him, panting. Draco was unconscious, and Madam Pomfrey snapped at her not to touch him, while she was giving him potions and rubbing ointment on his wounds.

"What happened?" Elvira whispered, trembling.

"Attacked. That's all I know. Severus just dropped him off, and then rushed out. The poor boy's been out, so he hasn't said anything about who did it." She said, softening slightly.

"But Professor Snape said he wanted to talk to me." She said, still whispering, as though she was afraid her speaking too loudly would hurt him further.

"Then he must have said so before he got here." She said as she bandaged Draco's chest. He was badly cut, and his blonde hair was stained with blood. As was his shirt. Madam Pomfrey kept working on him for another 20 minutes, before telling Elvira she would be in her office. Elvira sat down on a chair by the bed and gingerly took Draco's hand. His eyes were puffy, as though he'd been crying. She stroked his hair carefully. It was matted with dried blood. Madam Pomfrey had cast a cleaning charm on his clothes, but she hadn't cleaned his hair. She had no idea how long she sat there, it could have been minutes, or hours. He groaned a couple of times, but he didn't wake up. She stroked his cheek softly. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, and Theo's voice spoke.

"What's going on?" Theo said.

"Draco's been attacked. Professor Snape said he wanted to talk to me, but he's been unconscious for hours." She said mechanically, feeling empty. Theo stiffened.

"Attacked?" He said, looking at Draco. Professor Snape cleared his throat.

"Right... You need to eat something. You can visit him again tomorrow. He's been given a potion, so he won't wake up today, anyway." He said, and Elvira got the feeling Snape had only brought Theo here to get her away from Draco's bedside. It worked though, as she didn't want Theo to get hurt. She reluctantly followed him and Snape into Snape's office, where she was given something to eat. She had no idea what it was though, she just ate to have something to occupy her hands with. When she finished they were ushered out of the office, and Theo lead her towards the empty class room near the common room.

"You ok?" He asked carefully.

"Yeah. I just didn't expect something like this to happen in Hogwarts. I thought he was safe here." She said. She was starting to get over the shock, but now she was overtaken by guilt. She looked up at Theo, her eyes swimming in tears.

"I'm sorry. I know you don't like it when I act like this, but I worry about him. He was my best friend, my only friend really, for years." She said, and blinked the tears out of her eyes. Theo wiped them off her cheeks, and kissed her on the forehead.

"I know, don't apologise. I should be the one apologising, for making my girlfriend cry when her friend was attacked." He said sadly, hanging his head. Elvira hugged him.

"You're not making me cry, Theo. I just don't want you to think that I don't love you." She said, and he smiled a little sadly at her.

"We should get back to the common room. You should get some sleep, and then we can visit him in the morning." He said. Elvira nodded, and they walked out of the empty classroom.

After a restless night, Elvira went down into the common room the next morning, to find Theo on the sofa, a stack of toast sitting on the table in front of him. He looked up at her.

"I didn't want to wake you, so I brought you some toast. Professor Snape said we could take the day off. He's really rattled by this, I think." He said as Elvira sat down and started nibbling on a piece of toast.

"I reckon Draco's the only student he actually likes." She said, as she spotted the pumpkin juice. She drank some and quickly ate some more toast. She hadn't realised how hungry she was until now.

"So... You wanna go see him?" Theo asked after she'd finished eating and she nodded.

"Maybe I should stay here. It's not really me he wants to see, is it?" He said when Elvira reached out her hand.

"I want you with me. Please?" She said, and he caved. They walked in silence up to the hospital wing, Theo looking nervous. Just before they entered, he stopped.

"I'll just wait here, ok? I'll be right outside if you need me. I just think it would be better for him if I wasn't there." He said, and Elvira reluctantly agreed. She pushed the doors open, and walked in to see Draco sitting in his bed, propped up by pillows, wincing as he tried to eat his lunch.

"Hi." She said quietly, and he looked up quickly, wincing again.

"Hi." He answered, and tried to reach his pumpkin juice. Elvira walked over and handed it to him.

"How're you feeling?" She asked, regretting it instantly. It was pretty obvious he wasn't feeling all that great.

"All things considered, I'm alright." He said, not looking at her. She sat down on the chair that was still standing next to his bed.

"What happened?" She asked, and his face turned sour.

"I'd rather not talk about it." He said moodily. Elvira nodded.

"Snape told me you came to see me last night?" He said, and Elvira blushed, suddenly feeling silly about her behaviour.

"Yeah. He told me you wanted to talk to me, but Madam Pomfrey said you'd been unconscious, so I don't know." She said, looking out of the window.

"Listen, I'm sorry..." They both started at the same time. They smiled at each other.

"I'm sorry about the poison. I just figured that if I managed to kill him without the Death Eaters, less people would get involved." He whispered, keeping an eye on Madam Pomfrey's office door. Elvira took his hand.

"I know. I'm sorry I blew up. I know you've been under a lot of pressure, more than me. I had no right to yell at you like that. Twice." She said, feeling ashamed. Draco stared down at her hand, and she quickly withdrew it, blushing.

"It's alright. It is my fault, after all. Where's Theo? I was starting to think the two of you had grown attached at the hips or something." He said cheerfully. Elvira knew him too well to fall for it though, but she went with it.

"He's in the hallway. He didn't think you'd appreciate seeing him when you woke up." She said.

"Well, he's not wrong." Draco muttered, and Elvira smiled. They fell into an awkward silence where Draco was trying to eat, but he kept wincing every time he leaned forward. Elvira ended up silently feeding him, which made things even more awkward.

"Shouldn't you be in class, by the way?" Draco said suddenly, and Elvira hadn't been paying attention, so she shoved a spoonful of porridge right onto his closed mouth, smearing it everywhere.

"Snape gave me and Theo the day off, for some reason." She said while she wiped the porridge off Draco's face. Their eyes connected and Elvira just looked at him, her hand staying on his face. She mentally shook herself. No, she would not do this to Theo. Or herself. Or Draco for that matter.

"I think he trusts you." Draco said after what seemed like an eternity.

"Don't be silly." She said, smiling.

"You should probably get back to Theo." He said, looking sad.

"Draco..." She started, but he held up his hand to stop her.

"No, I mean it. I've made things difficult enough." He said firmly.

"Fine, but I'm coming back later. You won't get rid of me that easily. And I need to have a word with Madam Pomfrey about the potions she's giving you, because you're not acting like yourself." Elvira said, and she kissed him on the cheek as she got up.

"You're still my best friend, you know. Even if I haven't treated you like that lately." She said before walking towards the doors.

"Likewise." He said just before she opened them. She smiled at him and walked into the corridor, where Theo sat, looking thoughtful.

"Back so soon?" He asked as the doors closed.

"Yeah. We didn't really have that much to talk about. You alright?" She asked, and he looked up at her.

"Of course I am." He said, getting up. She took his hand and they walked silently down the hallway. She looked sideways at him.

"What?" He said.

"Why are you so understanding and perfect? Why aren't you throwing tantrums and calling him names? How can you be so... Well, perfect?" She said, and Theo smiled a little sadly.

"Because I guess I always knew who your heart truly belonged to, deep down." He said. Elvira blinked. Whatever she had expected to hear, that was not it. She stopped.

"Excuse me?" She said, staring at him and letting go of his hand. He didn't look away, his eyes locked on hers.

"Listen, I'm not saying I don't believe you love me. But there's something about Draco that always throws you off. And nothing throws you off." He said, looking thoughtful. Elvira gaped at him.

"So what are you saying?" She said, her voice breaking.

"I think I want out." He said.


	14. Chapter 14

**Ugh, I am not good with emotional... But I hope you like it anyway. Also, yay for actually updating when I said I would! **

Elvira just stood there, staring at Theo's retreating back. She had just been dumped, and all she had said was 'ok'. She had also been nodding and gaping a lot. He'd said a lot of things she hadn't really heard, and then he'd walked off. She was completely numb with shock. She should have told him no, she didn't want to end it, that she wouldn't let him just run away. Why hadn't she? An annoying little voice in the back of her head told her that the reason was currently lying in the infirmary, trying to shovel porridge into his mouth without passing out from pain. The bell rang, and she panicked. She did not want to be shuffled around by the mass of students who would spill out into the corridor at any second, so she walked quickly back to the doors of the hospital wing, and yanked them open. Draco looked up, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"What on earth happened to you? You're as pale as the Bloody Baron." He said, and she walked over to his bed, sitting down on the chair beside it, and stared into nothingness.

"Theo just broke up with me." She croaked, and she nearly jumped at how odd her voice sounded.

"What? Why?" Draco said, his eyebrows traveling further up his forehead. She looked at him.

"Because of you." She said.

"But I haven't done anything!" He replied, looking about as confused and shocked as Elvira felt.

"No, but I have. Apparently being concerned about you when you were nearly killed was the wrong thing to do." She said, and she suddenly felt angry.

"You should go talk to him." Draco said, and Elvira glared, even though she didn't really mean to direct her anger at him.

"No. If he's going to dump me for caring about my friend, I'm not bothering. I've told him so many times that he had nothing to be jealous of, and if he can't trust me, I'm better off without him." She said stubbornly, crossing her arms. But it hurt. That he didn't trust her hurt, that he honestly thought she'd go running back to Draco one day when she got tired of him hurt. And that she wouldn't get to kiss him again hurt. It all hurt. She harshly wiped a tear of her cheek, not wanting to do this when Draco was in such a bad shape. She didn't really want to do it with Draco at all.

"I'm sorry, this is the last thing you need." She said, and mentally shook herself. She'd deal with this later.

"You don't have to deal with everything alone, you know." Draco said, and Elvira smirked at him.

"Pot, meet kettle." She said sarcastically. Draco scoffed, and then he winced.

"So, when are you getting out of here?" She asked, taking a slice of apple of Draco's plate.

"I need to take blood replenishing potions for a couple of days, so I guess once I'm done with those." He said, and Elvira was glad he didn't push her to talk about the whole Theo thing. She nodded, and just then the doors burst open, and Narcissa came rushing in, looking flustered.

"Draco! Oh, my sweet little boy! I came as soon as I heard." She cried, and hurried over to his bed, all her aristocratic and pompous manners forgotten. Elvira decided then and there that she liked Narcissa Malfoy.

"Mother, please..." Draco said, as she kissed him several times on the cheeks, taking care not to touch his chest. Elvira stood up, feeling as though she was imposing.

"No, no, please stay, Elvira dear." Narcissa said, as she conjured another chair, and sat down, clutching Draco's hand as though her life depended on it. Elvira sat down again, and smiled to herself as Draco blushed slightly at his mothers behaviour. Madam Pomfrey came out of her office, looking as though she was ready to yell at whoever was making all the noise, but quickly turned around and hurried off when she saw Narcissa.

"I'm need to talk to Severus, I just had to come see you first. But as you have company, I'm sure you won't mind me being away for a couple of minutes." She said, and winked at Elvira. Elvira blushed. Narcissa Malfoy had actually winked at her.

"No, I won't mind..." Draco muttered, and Narcissa kissed him on his pink cheek before standing up again.

"I'll be back later, darling." She said to Draco, and then she left, leaving him and Elvira alone again, in awkward silence.

Later that evening, Elvira came into the common room to see Theo sitting in a chair by the fire, rather than their usual spot. That made a whole bunch of feelings well up inside her, and her eyes connected briefly with his, before she turned on her heel, and walked straight back out of the common room. She walked to the empty classroom, but found that she didn't want to be in there, so she just sat down outside of it, her face in her hands. She was too young for this. Love shouldn't be this complicated, it should be fun and exciting. Instead she was sat here, heartbroken and at the same time getting more and more certain that Theo might be right. Because she really couldn't deny it any longer. Just as she'd told Draco that she couldn't make her feelings for Theo disappear, she couldn't make the feelings she'd had for Draco disappear. And somehow they seemed to have gotten stronger while they were being suppressed. But she really did love Theo. And she felt as though she was suffocating when she thought about being without him. She heard footsteps coming down the hallway, and got up to walk further down it to avoid having to talk to anyone, when Theo's voice spoke.

"Elvira..." He said, barely audible.

"What? Come to accuse me of loving someone else?" She said angrily.

"No, I just wanted to talk." He said. She turned around.

"What else could you possibly have to say to me?" She asked, trying to keep her anger controlled. Anger flared in Theo's eyes as well.

"Where have you been all day?" He asked, looking positively evil with the torch light flickering in his eyes.

"Why would you want to know that? You wanted out, so get out then!" She spat.

"You ran straight to him, didn't you?" He spat back.

"It's not like I had anyone else to go to, and you know that!" She said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I pushed my best friend away, for you. And you repay me by dumping me for being concerned when he nearly died? By not trusting me? Well, I'm sorry for not giving you a medal for being 'boyfriend of the year'." She said, the tears now streaming down her face. Theo's expression changed, and he looked shameful.

"The way you stroked his hair... It didn't look all that innocent to me." He muttered, but he looked as though he understood how lame an argument it really was.

"I don't know if I have feelings for him, ok? I never really had the time to get over it if I did, because you came along. But I chose you. I pushed him away, I pushed those feelings aside, for your sake, you idiot. But that obviously meant nothing to you." She yelled, not caring who heard her.

"Pushed them aside? Ever since Christmas you've barely even kissed me!" He hissed back, anger flaring again. Elvira was taken aback by this. She'd never even thought about it.

"Did it ever occur to you that it might have been because I was a tad bit distracted by the very real threat to my life? That it might have been because I could get killed the moment I leave this castle?" She spat. Theo opened his mouth several times, as though he was trying to say something, but couldn't find the words. Elvira just slumped against the wall, slowly sliding down to a sitting position.

"You never talk to me anymore, so what am I supposed to think? What would you have thought if the situation was reversed?" He asked weakly. Elvira sighed.

"I don't know. But I think I would have talked to you about it before dumping you." She said pointedly. Theo didn't answer. They just sat there until a couple of prefects came and ushered them back to the common room. Elvira looked at Theo one last time before heading up to her dorm, feeling exhausted, hurt and miserable.

She lay staring up at the ceiling above her bed, tears pooling in her eyes. She blinked, and they ran slowly down her temples, and into her hair. This was not how it was supposed to be. She'd gone over the last couple of months in her head, and now that she thought about it, she felt ashamed of herself. Theo was absolutely right. She had barely kissed him. But he hadn't kissed her either. It felt childish even thinking it. She groaned loudly, and sat up, punching her pillow before she lay back down on her side. Stupid boys, with their stupid jealousy and their stupid charms. She stared over at Astoria, who was much less attractive at night, her mouth hanging open, a bit of spit dripping from it. How did she manage to run from boy to boy and still be a disgustingly happy little girl? Elvira felt like she'd had enough of them for a lifetime, and she'd only ever kissed two. She sat up, pulled out her wand and some parchment and a quill. She muttered 'lumos' to her wand, and held it between her teeth while quickly scribbling down a long, messy letter to her mother, and sat there waiting for dawn to break, so she could head to the owlery.

She had decided not to go into Hogsmeade that saturday, as she felt like she wanted to be alone. Draco had been released from Madam Pomfrey's iron grip only after Snape promised to keep an eye out for him, and not let him exhaust himself, so she sat on her bed, avoiding both him and Theo. Just then an owl came zooming in through the door, and landed on her bed. She took the letter, and tore it open, recognising her mothers handwriting.

**Meet me in Hogsmeade at noon.**

**Mum**

Elvira checked her clock, and yelped. It was half past eleven already. She quickly got up, and hurriedly changed, and then she bounded from her dorm, running past a sour looking Theo, and a haggard looking Draco.

She stopped outside the Three Broomsticks, clutching a stitch in her side wheezing. She was not built for running. She looked up, and saw her mother walking briskly towards her, looking immaculate as ever, her carefree manner having disappeared completely. Something bad was going on.

"Elvira, so good to see you. I need to discuss something with you, but we can't do it here. Are you up for a little rule-breaking?" Her mother said, with a glint in her eyes.

"Uhm, yes, I suppose." Elvira replied. Her mother held out her hand and Elvira took it. She lead her to an out of sight alley.

"Focus on the library at home." She said, and then she spun them around with surprising strength for such a thin woman. After a moment of feeling as though she was being scrunched together, Elvira and her mother appeared in the library of Crabbe manor. Elvira coughed and spluttered.

'I'm sorry, I should have warned you. But we don't have much time. Please sit down." Her mother said in a business-like tone. Elvira sat down, with a growing feeling of unease.

"Mother?" She said, feeling like a small child that had broken the fine china.

"I am very sorry about Theo, dear, but we have more pressing issues to discuss. I was hoping I could wait until you came home for the summer, but I don't think it can wait that long. There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it. The Dark Lord is planning a mass break-out of his Death Eaters from Azkaban. This means your father will probably be home soon. As will Lucius Malfoy. You mustn't tell Vincent I've told you this. I'm afraid he's too determined to follow in his fathers footsteps. But I believe I can still save you." Her mother said, kneeling before her and clutching Elvira's hands in hers.

"Stay away from Draco Malfoy. The poor boy won't have a chance once Lucius get's out. Lucius has brought them all far too deeply into this, and it's already put you in danger once. Draco will succeed in his mission, he's close. But I do not expect him to pull off another stunt like this one. And if he should, it seems Lucius has already made a binding contract with a certain Mr. Greengrass regarding Draco's future." She continued. Elvira felt as though she'd been punched in the face.

"A binding contract regarding his future? You don't mean..?" Elvira stammered. Her mother brushed a lock of hair out of Elvira's eyes.

"Yes. Offered him up like a pedigree dog." She scoffed.

"Azkaban. Dad. Vincent." Elvira sputtered, unable to form a coherent thought.

"I know it's a lot to take. Now, the second you're done with your last OWL, you will come straight home. I've arranged it with the headmaster, and he quite agrees. In three weeks you'll be home, safe, where I can keep an eye on you. I'll be damned if I let both of my children ruin their lives." Her mother said, and Elvira couldn't help but be impressed by the silent rebellion. She nodded determinedly, and her mother smiled at her.

"That's my girl. Now, let's use our remaining time to discuss the situation with Theo." She said, and Elvira went off, telling her everything.

It was an absolutely surreal situation. She couldn't really take in any of the things her mother had told her, except for one thing; Draco was going to marry either Astoria or her older sister Daphne. And that made Elvira furious. Had he known all along? What the hell was he playing at? When she came into the common room that evening she saw him sitting by the fire, talking to... She did a double take. He was talking to Theo, and he was smiling. Sort of, anyway. She stood there staring for a moment, before a small first year walked straight into her when he was entering the common room. The following commotion made Draco and Theo look up. She glared at them, wanting to convey the anger and disappointment she felt about everything. Theo stood up, still looking at her. She stormed off into her dorm, flopping down on her bed again. She felt more confused than ever, and to top it all off, she now wanted to hex Astoria into oblivion, just in case. As if on cue, she came into their dorm.

"Theodore asked me to go after you and ask if you would please come down and talk to him." She said sweetly. The only thing Elvira could think of was that her wand was much too far away, and if it would be respectable for a pureblood Slytherin to sucker-punch someone.

"I'm not going down there. I need to sleep." She said, and turned away from Astoria, who sighed and got up.

"Alright." She said, and left the dorm. At least she wasn't pushy Elvira thought, and sat up to draw the curtains on her bed.

The following day she skipped both breakfast and lunch, in fear of bumping into anyone she didn't want to talk to. When dinner time came around, though, her stomach was grumbling, and she decided she would have to go get something to eat. She got out of bed, and changed, before walking briskly out of her dorm, determined not to talk to anyone.

When she got to the great hall, she noticed that both Theo and Draco were there already, which made it easier for her to sit as far away from them as possible. She noticed both of them looking at her when she walked past, but she just pretended they didn't exist, and sat at the far end, closest to the staff table. She piled food on her plate, and started gobbling it down shamelessly. A couple of first years looked bewildered at her, as the Slytherin table had sort of an informal seating arrangement, but she took no notice of them.

She ate quickly, wanting to get out before Theo and Draco, so she could go back to moping in peace, in her dorm. In record speed she stuffed 3 pork chops and a mountain of potatoes down her throat, and hurried off. Her one mistake, however, was to not check if any of the boys had left the table. When she got to the entrance to the Slytherin common room, Draco stood there waiting for her, looking impatient and sour. She groaned to herself, and had half a mind to just run off, but she decided it would be better to run towards the safety of her bed, rather than towards a hall full of cheerful people she couldn't stand the sight of at the moment.

"Are you going to tell me what it is I've done?" Draco said, leaning casually against the wall. Elvira just looked at him, and gave the password, which made the bit of wall Draco was leaning against temporarily disappear, causing him to tumble into the common room. Elvira snorted, and walked past, but he grabbed her ankle. Caught off guard, she fell, face first, into the stone floor of the common room. She moaned, rubbing her forehead.

"What the hell are you doing?" She yelled at Draco, ignoring the giggling off a gang of girls by the fire.

"Trying to have a conversation with you." He said, standing up. He held out his hand to help her up, but she just looked at it as though it was a poisoned apple.

"Now, I'll try again. What have I done to upset you this time?" He said, grabbing her around the waste and pulling her up, completely ignoring her angry sputterings.

"I'm busy. We can have this conversation after I'm done with my OWL's. And pass that message on to Theo as well. I'd rather not be distracted." She said smoothly, knowing full well she would not be around to talk to anyone after her OWL's.

Snape had come by to inform her of the details of her leaving. She would pack her trunk before her charms exam, and Snape would pick it up while the students were all attending their classes. As soon as she'd finished her exam, she would go to Snape's office, and he would send her and her trunk straight to Crabbe manor with the floo. Unfortunately for Elvira, her exams were postponed.

It was complete madness in the Slytherin common room. Elvira went downstairs from her dorm to see what on earth was going on down there. People were talking loudly, some happily, others looked terrified. She felt someone grab her arm, and she spun around. It was Theo, and he looked pale.

"They're here." He croaked and Elvira gasped.

"No, no, no! Not now! I was so close! So bloody close!" She said, panicking slightly. She wasn't prepared for this.

"Draco... Where is he?" She said frantically, looking around the common room, searching for his blonde head.

"He took off after lunch. Haven't seen him since. Apparently the Dark Mark been cast over the astronomy tower." Theo said, and his grip tightened as Elvira turned to leave.

"Let go of me! I need to find him!" She screeched wildly.

"No, you can't..." He began, but she yanked herself out of his grip, and took off. She had no idea what the hell she was doing she just needed to find him. She ran into the entrance hall, and out of the castle. She needed to see the mark for herself. She rapidly blinked tears out of her eyes when she saw the green glow of the mark on the grass. Theo caught up with her.

"Elvira, you need to get inside. You need to stay away from this, in case he... In case he..." He didn't seem able to finish the sentence, so he tried pulling her along instead. As they wrestled, a sickening crunch, and a thump made them both jump, and they turned towards the noise. Elvira froze. Lying on the grass, broken and lifeless, was Albus Dumbledore. Time seemed to slow down. All sorts of feelings welled up in her. He'd done it. He'd actually done it. She felt disgusted, relieved and scared all at once. Theo grabbed her again.

"Come on. We don't want to be out here when they find him." He said, and Elvira let him steer her towards the door. Suddenly she doubled over, and vomited all over Theo's shoes.

"I'm so sorry!" She squeaked, wiping her mouth. He shook his head, and pulled out his wand, cleaning up the mess easily.

"Don't worry about it. Just go." He said urgently. They'd only just gotten inside when a group of people came rushing down the stairs. At the back of the group, Snape had a tight grip on Draco, who looked nearly as broken as Dumbledore. Elvira started forwards, but Theo held her back. Brown eyes connected with grey ones.

"Elvira. Follow the plan."Snape hissed at her as he swept past. Theo started pushing her towards the stairs to the dungeon. The blonde head of Draco Malfoy disappeared through the doors.

"No! No, I need to talk to him!" Elvira screamed frantically, but Theo put his hand over her mouth, and pulled her into the shadows, as footsteps were heard. Harry Potter came racing down the stairs, and sped out of the giant doors leading to the grounds, looking positively livid.

"Come on." Theo said again, and Elvira followed him, feeling numb. He'd done it. He'd actually done it. And Snape had called her by her first name. She wasn't sure which was worse. And then her brain snapped back into action.

"Theo. Will you help me carry my trunk to Snape's office? I'll explain on the way." She said, and he nodded. She ran up to her dorm, where her trunk stood on her bed, already packed. She threw the last couple of items into it, and slammed it shut before hauling it down to the common room. Theo took it from there, and together they walked towards Snape's office.

"Spill." Theo said as soon as they were out of earshot of a group of confused first years.

"I can't tell you all of it. But my mum arranged for me to go home once I'd done my OWL's, so I'd be out of here before this happened. The plan was for me to go straight from my exam to Snape's office, and use his fireplace to get home." She said, feeling determined. She clung to the last concrete thing she had.

"Hang on... You told Draco you'd explain things after you were done with your OWL's." Theo said, frowning.

"Yeah... Sorry 'bout that..." She muttered. They fell silent, and didn't speak again before the extremely awkward moment when Elvira was about to step into the fireplace.

"Uhm... Stay safe, then." Theo said, looking down at the floor.

"Thanks for being there tonight. I'm sorry for... Well, everything, really." She said, and Theo smiled a small smile. She threw a fistfull of floopowder into the flames, and Theo hauled her trunk in. She stepped in after it.

"I'll send you an owl." She said lamely, and then she said 'the Library, Crabbe Manor, Manchester' firmly, and she zoomed away in a flurry of sparks and ashes.


	15. Chapter 15

**Ok, I just want to explain some of my I'm not really that happy with how it turned out, but I just really felt like I needed to update, as I haven't had much time for writing lately, and thusly haven't updated when I said I would. Bad author is bad... **

Elvira shot out of the fireplace in the library of Crabbe manor, right behind her trunk, that zoomed across the room and smashed the table. Her mother had been sitting on the sofa, looking intently at the fireplace, no doubt waiting for her. Her mother scrambled down on the floor, and took Elvira's face between her hands, staring into her eyes.

"Thank goodness you're alright! Narcissa sent me an owl, I've been worried sick!" She said, pulling Elvira into a bone crushing hug. It felt so good to be home, with her mother, that Elvira just burst into tears, and sobbed loudly on her mothers shoulder for what could have been hours. She felt completely drained, confused, disgusted, relieved and guilty, and several other things she couldn't name.

"You heard from Narcissa? Is Draco alright?" She said, looking up at her mother.

"I don't know, she only informed me that the plan was being executed." Her mother replied, and they fell silent again, silent tears trailing down Elvira's face. After a long time, her mother tucked her hair behind her ear.

"How about a bath, and then bed?" She said, smiling kindly. Elvira nodded, returning her smile weakly. Her mother stood up, and held out her hand to help Elvira up. They walked slowly up the stairs, and Elvira let out a sigh of relief when she submerged her body in the hot water.

Time passed by slowly for Elvira after coming home. She felt completely lost, not knowing anything. All the owls she'd tried to send to Malfoy manor came back, still clutching her letters. Theo hadn't responded to her letters, but she assumed he was getting them, as they weren't returned. She completely lost sense of time, jumping wildly one day when she came down for lunch and Vincent was sitting at the table. She'd honestly thought he wouldn't be home for weeks.

"Have you heard from Draco? Is Theo alright?" She said immediately. His face fell, and so did Elvira's stomach.

"Theo disappeared a couple of weeks ago. No one has a clue where he is. Same with Draco, really." He said. Elvira gaped at him.

"Theo's disappeared, and you didn't tell me? You can write, can't you?" She said shrilly. He stood up abruptly.

"Yeah, I can write. But it's none of my business, is it? From what I hear, they busted his father out of the borstal, so maybe he's got him." He said, and he actually smiled.

"His father? But if he's out..." She said, her brow furrowed. Vincent finished her sentence.

"Dad will be home soon. Which means we can finally start doing something." He said, a wicked glint in his eyes. Elvira backed away.

"What the hell happened to you, Vincent?" She said, actually feeling afraid. Not just about her brother, but if Theo's dad had taken him out of school, she highly doubted it would be to have a family reunion with hot chocolate and tales around the fire. And Lucius would be home too, which meant... She turned around and ran from the kitchen, up to her mothers room. She burst through the door, and found her mother sitting on the bed, looking sad.

"Mum?" She said, her voice sounding strangled. Her mother looked up and silently handed Elvira a letter. She took it with trembling hands.

**Ada**

**You and the children are to come to the Malfoy manor at noon July 3rd, for a meeting. You will receive further instructions while here. We will send someone to collect you at 11:30.**

**Frederick**

"So they're really out?" Elvira squeaked, and her mother nodded slowly.

"Mum, we can't go, Vincent has already lost his mind, we can't send him in there." Elvira said, and her mother closed her eyes.

"I don't really see that we have a choice, Elvira. We'll keep our heads down, do as little as we can get away with doing, and play the "silly girl" card." Her mother said sadly.

"Alright, what do you need me to do?" Elvira said.

"I always wished I could do better by you, than what was done for me. But lately I've come to realise my mother made the right choice, and so I've made the same for you. I'm so proud of you, Ellie. So proud." She said, and Elvira almost started crying again. When she'd been a child, her mother had read to her every night. And every night before that, her mother had kissed her on the forehead and called her Ellie. Her father didn't think it was appropriate for pure blood witches to even be able to read, so he'd put a stop to her and her mothers quality time. It must have been 6 or 7 years since the last time.

"Your mother? You mean...?" Elvira asked, shocked. She'd never actually asked how her parents got together. She wondered how happy her mum had been to be forced into marrying someone like her father.

"Yes. Last time He was powerful, my mother signed a contract with your grandfather. When I gave birth to Vincent, my job was considered done, and I was left in peace to raise him. But I'd always wanted a girl, so I convinced Frederick to have another child. It's not often pure blood couples have more than one child, as it's usually a marriage neither of them wanted. I really hoped it wouldn't come to this, but I think this will be the best way to keep you safe." She said, looking sad again.

"Let's see what they want first, ok? If there's something I need to get out of, we'll figure something out." Elvira said, feeling nauseous. She knew her mother meant well, but this seemed drastic, extreme even. But then again, dying was pretty extreme too.

"I suppose. But we need to get to work, we have a lot to do before tomorrow." She said, patting Elvira's cheek.

Half past eleven the next day, Elvira, Vincent and their mother stood outside the gates, in their finest clothes, waiting for whom ever was going to "collect them". Elvira wore the green dress she'd gotten for Christmas, and had her hair braided down her back. It stirred up memories of Theo, and Draco. She hoped they were gonna be there, and that she got to see them.

11:35, a small pop signalled the arrival of their collector. Elvira almost smiled in relief as she saw that is was Snape. He was better than most of them. He silently pulled out a silver hairbrush, and looked at it with his lips curled in disgust, as though he found travelling by beauty supplies to be beneath him, which he probably did. They all touched a finger to it, and without further ado, they were sucked into nothingness.

Moments later they stood outside a large gate, a couple of large, white birds bristling their feathers at them from behind it. Elvira raised her eyebrow. She hadn't really been paying attention to what Snape was doing, but suddenly the gates swung open, and they walked up the path to a large, beautiful house. Suddenly Elvira's heart started beating wildly. She hadn't really thought about what would happen here today before now. She swallowed thickly as they walked up the stairs to the door, and it opened by itself, leading them into a large entrance hall, with a marble staircase. Elvira gaped. The Crabbe family was rich, and the Crabbe manor was huge and beautifully decorated. But no one could outshine the Malfoys. Crabbe manor looked like a run-down cottage compared to this. Her mother nudged her, and Elvira closed her mouth, and looked around to see Lucius Malfoy standing there, his eyebrow raised, smirking slightly. He looked so much like Draco, Elvira felt like she was looking into the future. He even had the gaunt, hollowed out look Draco had been sporting lately. Like father like son, indeed.

"Forgive me, Mister Malfoy, I was just taken aback by the beauty of your house." She said pompously and curtsied, while extending her arm. He took it, and placed a cold kiss on the back of her hand. She had to contain herself not to shiver.

"That's quite alright, Miss Crabbe. Lovely to meet you at last." He said smoothly, and Elvira fought the impulse to run when he smiled. It was almost predatory. Instead she smiled a sweet smile.

"And you, Mister Malfoy." She said, bowing her head slightly. When Lucius moved over to Vincent, Elvira looked over at her mother, who gave her an almost imperceptable nod of approval.

"Now, we have much to discuss. If you will please come through here." Lucius said, walking towards a door. They silently followed him.

Elvira's heart sank when she saw that neither Draco, nor Theo was anywhere in sight. Vincent and Gregory stood to her left, looking excited. Pansy stood on her right, looking as though she was about to vomit. Luckily the Dark Lord was not there. He obviously had more important things to attend to than personally giving out orders to 4 kids. Elvira looked around at the adults in the room. Lucius had his hand casually on Narcissa's back, looking as though he owned the place. Which he did, Elvira reminded herself. To their left, was a proud-looking woman with caramel skin and long, shiny black hair, that Elvira had never met. Next to her again were the Goyles, looking severe, and then her parents, who didn't look like they enjoyed their reunion very much. Next to them stood a man who looked eerily like Theo, only older and withered. He made Elvira shudder. And lastly, the Parkinsons. All in all, they were a festive bunch.

"It has been decided that, for now, none of you will need to service the Lord. He appreciates the importance of education, and will therefore let you all graduate before joining him. This means you will not take his mark as of yet. However, should an emergency arise, you will be required to fight." Lucius said, looking at them neutrally.

"Now, we will have a quick lunch, before the children can go back upstairs, and we can continue our meeting." Lucius continued, and the people around the room scattered, Vincent went over to talk to their father, Gregory joining him. Elvira motioned for her mother to come over, and she hastily made her way over to her.

"I think Mr. Nott has done something to Theo, mum. Vincent said Theo went missing shortly after I left, and he's not replying to my owls." Elvira said frantically. Her mother shook her head.

"No, he hasn't. He has no idea where Theo is." She said, and Elvira's mouth fell open.

"How do you know that?" She said. Her mother shifted guiltily.

"I might accidentally have slipped inside his mind for a few seconds. Just to see that Theo was alright, of course." She said. Elvira grinned.

"You're the coolest mum ever." She said, and her mother smiled and winked at her.

Her father walked towards them, his heavy steps making the fine crystal shiver and rattle in the cabinets. He reached out and clumsily patted Elvira's head. It was almost loving, coming from him.

"Elvira. I've made some valuable contacts for you." He said formally, looking proud of himself.

"Uhm... Valuable contacts?" She said, not following him at all. He nodded his head in the direction of the shiny-haired dark woman.

"Dad... What...?"He cut her off, swinging his big beefy hand, and Elvira was almost afraid he was going to hit her.

"Mrs. Zabini. She has a son." He said, and Elvira froze.

"Zabini? You don't mean? Surely you can't... Mother?" Elvira sputtered. Her mother looked up at her father.

"Frederick? What have you done?" She snapped. He glared at her mother.

"She'll be 16 soon, Ada. We need to start making arrangements." He replied, and turned back to Elvira.

"Her son is abroad, so he couldn't be here, but they will be visiting us in a couple of weeks. And you better behave." He said menacingly. Elvira nodded glumly.

"As.. As you wish, father." She said, feeling dejected.

"Frederick, this is madness. She still has two years left at school! She's a child!" Her mother said, glaring at her husband. He ignored her, and walked away. Elvira hardly noticed, because just then Draco walked in. Elvira stood rooted to the spot, her heart beating wildly. He was looking thin and tired, but alive. Their eyes met, and he motioned for her to follow him. He walked into the hallway, and she followed. He stopped in the entrance hall, and turned towards her. She walked up to him, and looked at him up close. She reached out and touched his face, needing to feel that he was really there. Then she closed the distance, and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. She could feel his face stretching into a surprised expression. She felt his heartbeat. Hard, fast, steady, alive. He pulled her closer, kissing her hungrily. And it felt like nothing ever had before. She was so relieved she wanted to sit down and sob, she was so happy to be standing there, in his arms, kissing him, that she almost wanted to sob at that too. He was alive. They were alive. She didn't want it to end, she didn't want to let go of him when she'd never truly had him. She didn't want to marry Blaise, and she didn't want him to marry one of the Greengrass girls. She didn't want to be in this stupid war. All she wanted, was to stay like that forever. Eventually they broke apart, gasping.

"Well, I've missed you too." Draco said lamely. Elvira smiled.

"Don't talk. You'll ruin it." She said, and kissed him again. She had no idea how long they stood like that, but she didn't care. After a while they broke apart again.

"I'm sorry it took me so long." She whispered, thinking back to the night in the empty classroom. He smiled, actually smiled, and stroked her cheek.

"I'm sorry it took us both so long." He whispered back.


	16. Chapter 16

**I know that Zabini was black in the movies, but somehow I always imagined him as Italian... And since this is my fanfic, he's going to be Italian :p **

**And as I don't like making things easy on Elvira and Draco, I'm going to mess things up again. *trollface***

Elvira stood in front of her mirror, staring at her reflection. She looked immaculate, and she didn't like it. Sighing, she walked over to her desk, and opened her drawer. It was full of ink and quills and all sorts of rubbish she was too lazy to clear out. She stuck her hand to the back of the drawer, and pulled out a letter. It was wrinkly and tearing in places, because she'd read it so many times. She smiled to herself as she unfolded it, and read it for what must have been the fiftieth time.

_E_

_So far, I haven't been able to change my fathers mind, but I will keep trying. At least I will be allowed to go back to Hogwarts this fall. I'm sorry I can't write more often, but I don't want to make anyone suspicious. Be sure to write back once our mutual friend has visited, I want to know how it goes. _

_I miss you. _

_D_

It wasn't anything special, but she still liked reading it, seeing his perfect handwriting. She knew it was horribly cheesy, like those romance novels some her friends read, where everyone got their happy ending, after a mad dash across the country on a broomstick, and confessing their undying love for each other in the rain. It was always in the rain, for some reason. But she couldn't help it. She liked having it in print that he missed her.

"Elvira!" Her mother called, and Elvira tucked the letter away again, took a deep breath and went down stairs to meet the Zabinis.

She walked downstairs to see her parents in their best robes, looking as though they'd been arguing. Her mother looked furious, and her father looked determined. After a couple of minutes in awkward silence, the doorbell rang, and the door flew open on it's own accord. The woman with caramel coloured skin and shiny, black hair stood outside, looking haughty and proud. And next to her stood Blaise Zabini, looking sour. Elvira's mother greeted them politely, and ushered them inside. Blaise nodded stiffly at Elvira, and his mother came over, sizing her up. Elvira met her gaze stubbornly, and Mrs. Zabini narrowed her eyes.

"She's got spirit. I can just feel it! You need spirit to handle an Italian man. Can you cook?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow. She had such a thick accent Elvira was sure it was fake.

"Uhm... I can make pancakes..?" Elvira offered, and her father sent her a warning glare.

"That won't do, my dear. I shall have to teach you." She said loudly and turned towards Elvira's parents.

"But I believe we have some matters to attend to first." She said, and Elvira's father nodded enthusiastically.

"You can show Mr. Zabini around while we talk, Elvira." He said, waving them off, and then offering his arm to Mrs. Zabini. Elvira's mother glared after them, and nodded to Elvira, before following. The doors to the library closed, and Elvira was left alone with Blaise.

"So, uhm... Garden?" Elvira said stupidly, and Blaise nodded, looking about as comfortable as she felt. They walked in silence out into the garden, and settled on a bench under a large, blossoming tree.

"I must admit, Crabbe, I hadn't imagined ending up with you." Blaise said after a good ten minutes of awkwardness. Elvira glared at him.

"Well, you weren't my first pick either." She said acidly.

"Hey, calm down, I just meant I figured you'd be auctioned off to Draco or Nott." He said, his hands up in surrender.

"Yeah, well... Theo is missing and Draco is... Occupied. My other choice was some 34 year old who eats and grunts a lot, and while you're not much, you're better than him." She said, narrowing her eyes at him. He snorted.

"Occupied, eh? If it makes you feel any better I was nearly married off to Bullstrode..." He said, his lips curling in disgust. Elvira smiled despite herself.

"Really? Are all the others taken?" She asked.

"There aren't many families left that goes to such extreme measures, not even in Slytherin. Those who do made arrangements last year." He said gloomily.

"Oh... Well, at least we'll be allowed to graduate." Elvira said, digging her heels into the soft dirt. Blaise sighed.

"Yeah. And I must admit, out of the choices I had, you really are preferable. At least you're not three times as big as me." He said, looking at a couple of butterflies dancing around the garden.

"And at least you can form a proper sentence, rather than just grunting." Elvira said. Blaise smiled half-heartedly at her. They fell silent again, and just sat on the bench until they were called back inside. They were lead into the library by her mother. Elvira knew immediately that the news weren't good, because her mother still looked furious, and her father smiled, which was never a good sign.

"We have come to an agreement!" Her father announced, and Mrs. Zabini nodded. She reached into a handbag and pulled out a small, frayed velvet box. Elvira suddenly felt a little light headed, and judging by the way Blaise was clutching the back of the chair, he did too.

"This belonged to my mother. I have kept it safe until the day Blaise would need it." She said, and motioned for him to pick up the box. He looked very reluctant, and Elvira wanted to bolt. But she stayed put, and he walked slowly over to the table and picked up the box. He opened it, and if his face was anything to go by, it looked as though his worst nightmare had come true. His mother nudged him, and he walked towards Elvira as though he was walking into his own death. Had it not been for the circumstances, she'd have been offended.

"Go on, dear." His mother urged. He took the ring out and their eyes met properly for the first time. He held it out lamely, as though offering her a piece of gum.

"No, no! Do it properly, Blaise. Have I not taught you better than this?" His mother said, and he sighed heavily before getting down on one knee, looking up at Elvira and mouthed 'kill me now'. A flash went off, and she looked up at Mrs. Zabini holding a camera, looking far too happy. Blaise took a deep breath.

"Elvira. Will you do me the great honour of bonding yourself to me, for life?" He spoke, sounding about as enthusiastic as Professor Binns, looking dejectedly at the floor. Elvira willed herself not to cry.

"Yes." She heard herself croak. Mrs. Zabini took another picture as Blaise slipped the ring on her finger and got to his feet again. Elvira's father stood up too, and for the first time Elvira could remember, he looked proud. That made her want to slap him.

"Very good! Now, we have much to discuss, we need to figure out where you'll be living, a date for the wedding. Oh, my only son, getting married!" Mrs. Zabini babbled. She didn't seem to notice that the newly engaged couple were far from happy. Elvira looked down on her ring. It was gold with a gleaming opal sat in the middle. It was beautiful, but it felt wrong. She didn't think she'd ever get used to having it there.

After what felt like days, the Zabini's left, and Elvira was allowed to go to her room. She sat down on her bed, and started crying. There was a soft knock on the door, and her mother came in. She didn't speak, she just sat down and held Elvira while she cried and sobbed.

"I really did try. But your father never had much of an ear for sense. I'm so sorry." Her mother said after a while, and Elvira looked up to see a few tears streaming down her mothers cheeks as well.

"I'm a pure blood witch, this is what I'm supposed to do, right? It's not your fault." Elvira said. She had always known it might come to this in the end, anyway. She just didn't know that the end was so near.

"You should warn Draco. The word is bound to get out soon." Her mother said, and Elvira stared at her. She hadn't told her mother about what had happened at the Malfoy manor, because her mother had told her to stay away from Draco.

"How did you..." She started, but then it occurred to her. Legilimency. Her mother looked guilty.

"I'm sorry, Ellie." She said, not trying to defend herself.

"It's ok. I can't afford to push you away too. You're the only one I have left." Elvira said, though feeling a little miffed that her mother had actually read her thoughts. What else had she seen?

"I'm so proud of you, dear. Despite your father, you have grown into a strong and wonderful young woman. Now, write that letter, and get some sleep." She said, kissing Elvira on the forehead, before getting up and leaving the room. Elvira went over to her desk and sat down. She stared blankly at her parchment for nearly 30 minutes, before writing the worst letter she had ever written.

_D _

_I couldn't convince my father either, and we both know what that means. I'm sorry, I tried, and so did my mum, but he wouldn't listen. I don't know what else to tell you. I don't think I can fix this. _

_I miss you too. _

_E_

She folded the letter neatly, and went over to her window. One of the Malfoy's owls sat on the windowsill, having stayed there ever since she received Draco's letter. It felt so final when she saw the owl flutter into the sky. It was like a symbol of all the 'what if's' she'd always carry with her, and that she would never get to try things out with Draco. All because of this stupid war, and this stupid farce of an engagement. She closed the window and curled up under the cover in her bed and fell asleep instantly.

A couple of days later Elvira woke up to an owl tapping her window. She sat up, dazed from sleep and scrambled out of bed. She was hoping for a reply from Draco. She opened the window, and the owl flew in. It dropped a letter on the bed and took off again immediately. Elvira ripped the envelope open, and a newspaper clipping fluttered out. She picked it up and nearly screamed.

_The daily prophet congratulates Mr. Blaise Zabini and Miss Elvira Crabbe on their engagement and wish you many happy years together!_

Under that was one of the pictures Mrs. Zabini had taken, and across the photo, in Theo's handwriting it said:

_Forget to tell me something?_

Elvira sat down on her bed and groaned.She was extremely relieved she'd finally heard from Theo, and angry because he hadn't bothered writing back until now. She was angry for a lot of things, really. Amongst those things were the invite they'd gotten the day before, inviting her and her family to spend a weekend at the Zabini's vacation home near lake Como in Italy. She was even more annoyed that her father had accepted without asking her. She crawled back under her covers and wished that she could just stay there forever. She heard the door open, and she peeked out to see Vincent coming into her room. She wanted to yell at him to leave her alone, but he had a peculiar look on his face. It looked almost like pity.

"What do you want?" She asked harshly. He looked down at his enormous feet.

"Just wanted to make sure you're ok." He said.

"Uhm... What?" Elvira said, genuinely confused. Vincent didn't even like her, why would he care about something like this.

"I saw you were sad. I know you wanted to marry Draco." He said, almost child-like. Elvira blushed and choked at the same time. This really wasn't like him.

"I... Thank you, Vincent." She said and he patted her hand before shuffling towards the door.

"You're my baby sister." He said, before hurrying out and closing the door behind him. Elvira smiled to herself. For once in her life, she actually felt like it.

A week later, the Crabbe family were walking down the path to the gate of Crabbe manor, bags packed. They were off for a "long weekend" with the Zabini's in sunny Italy, and they looked like a funeral party with beach parasols, dressed in heavy robes suitable for the British summer weather. Elvira walked at the back, and Vincent kept looking at her. He'd been very nice to her the last few days. Every day she'd found a chocolate frog on her desk. For most people this didn't seem like much, but Vincent never shared anything edible with anyone. The fact that he was leaving her sweets spoke louder than anything he could have done. Elvira smiled at him, and he smiled back, before turning around again. They reached the gates and Elvira's mother stuck her head out first, to see if there were anyone outside. Seeing as the house was under a fidelius charm, the wrought iron fence and gate worked something like a wall. No one could see what was behind it.

"There are 2 of them. Sorry, dear, but it looks like you'll have to take the potion." Her mother said. Her father scowled, and Elvira smirked to herself. They'd agreed that if there were aurors outside their house, her father would use polyjuice potion to temporarily change into Mrs. Zabini. With the engagement and all, it wouldn't be that improbably for her to be going somewhere with the Crabbe's. He hadn't been very happy about turning into a woman, but her mother had insisted. This just made Elvira love her mum even more.

Her father gobbled down the potion, and when the transformation was complete, they walked out on the street. The aurors looked up, from their newspapers, but apparently they were easily fooled, because they made no move towards them. Elvira's mother pulled out the portkey, a cracked dinner plate, and they all put a finger on it. After a couple of minutes it glowed brightly, and they where whisked off towards their destination.

"Wow." Elvira said, despite her resolution to not enjoy this weekend the slightest. They had portkey'ed straight into a postcard. Deep blue water, mountains, dark green grass. It was beautiful, even if she hated to admit it. Suddenly the real Mrs. Zabini appeared out of nowhere. Elvira supposed they'd had to place a fidelius on this house too, if her dad would be staying. Mrs. Zabini led them inside the charms borders, one by one, and after they'd all been ushered inside, she started walking towards the house, talking rapidly about dinner and sleeping arrangements. Elvira didn't pay attention, but she certainly should have.

She was lead upstairs, and into a large bedroom. She looked around.

"Uhm, Mrs. Zabini..." She started.

"Please dear, call me Agata. And it's Miss, by the way." She said. Elvira felt silly for not thinking about that, the woman was practically a wizard disposal unit.

"Right, Agata. This room is occupied." Elvira said. Agata smiled.

"Oh, you'll be sharing with Blaise. And I've placed a charm on all the rooms, so you won't be able to get up to anything." She said wagging her finger and Elvira blushed furiously at the implication.

"You just get settled, I'll send Blaise up to help you." She said and Elvira responded with something like 'uh duh' as she heard the door click shut behind her. She dropped her bag on the floor, and sat down, straight-backed and uncomfortable on a wooden chair. She didn't want to get settled, she wanted to leave. There was a tap on the door and Blaise walked in. Elvira blushed again.

"Uh... Hi..." Blaise said and waved awkwardly at her.

"Hi... I... Uhm... Guess we're sharing?" Elvira said, refusing to look him in the eyes. She spun the ring around on her finger, a new habit she'd gotten.

"Yeah. I can sleep on the floor if you want. I don't mind." He said, scratching his neck. Elvira didn't answer.

"Right." He muttered, and sat down on the bed. She didn't know what to do. She'd never shared a bed with someone before, and certainly not someone she didn't know. She had known she had to do this sooner or later, but she'd kind of been banking on later. For some reason it was a comfort for her that Blaise was as uncomfortable with it as she was. If he'd been all for it like his mother, things would have been even more awkward. And then she thought about her mum, who'd done this every night for 19 years.

"It's alright, it's a big bed. We'll figure something out. How about you show me the garden?" Elvira said eventually. Blaise shot up, looking relieved. Elvira stood up too and took off her thick robes. She walked over to Blaise, who offered his arm, and she took it to be polite. They walked around mainly in silence, except for when Blaise pointed out some historically important stuff around them.

"The really great place is around on the other side. Come on." He said, and lead her onto a large patio that seemed to be floating on the lake.

"Woah." Elvira said, letting go of his arm, and taking everything in. It really was beautiful down here. She sat down at the edge of the patio, sticking her feet in the water.

"Let's get to know each other." She said. They might as well, she didn't see how they'd get out of this. He sat down next to her, his legs crossed.

"What do you want to know?" He asked, and after a few lame questions about favourite animals and colours, they actually had a decent conversation. She learned things about him that made her think that maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't kill each other before they even got to the wedding. Elvira's father came outside, and sat himself on a bench not far from them. She was sure he was trying to listen to what they were saying, and Blaise seemed to catch on, and steered the conversation in another direction.

"Do you like it here?" He asked.

"Yeah, I do. It's so peaceful." She said, looking at the quiet lake.

"We could live here. Get away from everything that's happening back home. There's plenty of rooms, so we don't even have to sleep on the same floor, if you don't want to." He said, looking at her. She smiled shyly at him.

"I'd like that." She said, and he smiled back. That night at dinner, Elvira felt more hopeful than she had in a while. Maybe they weren't in love, and maybe they were far too young to think about getting married. But he wasn't so bad after all, and she knew she could grow to love and appreciate him as a friend. And his mother was lovely, even if she had a fuzzy history and were far too excited about an arranged marriage. She really made an effort. Elvira decided that she really could have been worse off, all things considered. That was until bedtime came around, and she was thrown into full-blown panic again. A boy, in the same bed. Her future husband, who she barely knew, but who still patted her awkwardly on the back as she was having an anxiety attack when he'd changed into pyjamas.

"I'll sleep on the floor." He said when Elvira had calmed down a bit again.

"No, I'd feel awful. The bed is huge, we can both fit without touching each other." She said.

"You sure? 'Cause it's really no problem." He said.

"I'm sure. I feel like enough of an idiot already, I'm not making you sleep on the floor." She said, not meeting his eyes.

"You're not an idiot. It's a lot to take." He said kindly.

"I don't see you freaking out..." Elvira replied pointedly.

"Oh, I've been freaking out for days. Mum told me you'd be sleeping in here last week. I've had plenty of time to adjust and freak out." He said. Elvira had a feeling he was lying, but she was still grateful.

"Thanks. Which side is your side?" She asked, and Blaise pointed to the left side. She crawled under the covers on "her" side of the bed, and lay there, stiff as a board, staring at the ceiling. She felt the mattress dip as Blaise got in and fought to keep her nerves under control. She had no idea why she was freaking out this badly, but she couldn't help it. She felt like an emotional wreck.

"Lights off?" Blaise asked, and she nodded stiffly. He waved his wand and the lights died.

"Are you allowed to do that?" She asked.

"Yeah, I turned 17 a few weeks ago." He said, and it sounded like he was grinning. She didn't know how she knew, she just did.

"Oh. Well, good night then." She said.

"Good night." He yawned back.

Elvira had a feeling she wouldn't be sleeping much, though. Everything suddenly felt more real, more scary, when she heard Blaise's steady breathing a few inches to her left.

"Blaise?" She said suddenly, not being able to lie there in silence any longer.

"Hm?" He replied. She turned towards him, even if she couldn't see him.

"Why are we doing this? Why aren't we protesting at all?" She whispered. He shifted, and Elvira assumed he'd turned towards her as well.

"Because there's no other way for us to stay safe. The "good guys" won't help us, especially after Dumbledore. If we defy our families, we'll be screwed, good and proper." He said.

"Did you think of that yourself, or is that just what you've been raised to think?" She said, and Blaise snorted.

"To be honest, I have no idea." He said.

"Me neither... I've been questioning everything lately. I mean, seriously, what kind of people decides that marrying off their children is the best approach to keep them safe? And why on earth did we agree without a fight? On some level, I actually agree with my father, and that scares me more than anything." Elvira whispered. Blaise shifted again, and Elvira felt his breath on the side of her face. She was sure she was blushing again.

"I have a house, after my father. No one knows about it, not even my mum. Theo's hiding out there, and we could too." He whispered so quietly Elvira barely heard him, even though he was far too close for her liking.

"Theo's there? You've been helping him? Why?" Elvira whispered back, her heart beating wildly.

"He needed a place to hide, I had one. Nothing more to it, really." He said. Without thinking, Elvira flung her arms around him.

"Thank you!" She said, probably louder than she should have. Blaise stiffened, and she let go, suddenly aware of what she was doing. She scooted closer to the edge of the bed, and he flung himself away from her so fast he toppled out of the bed. Elvira laughed.

"Oh, shut up." Blaise grumbled as he crawled back into the bed.

"If things gets worse, we'll go, ok? We'll just play along for now, I don't want my family to get in trouble." Elvira whispered after they'd settled again.

"Alright. My mum will probably be on you like a leech, though. She's been looking forward to this for years." Blaise answered.

"I'll manage." She said, feeling hopeful. Theo was safe, and she could be too.

"Thank you." She added, fumbling before finding Blaise's hand. She squeesed it lightly. He made a noise she supposed meant "you're welcome" and they fell silent. A while later, they must have fallen asleep, because they were woken up by Ms. Zabini some time the next morning. Elvira sat up, and realised she was still holding Blaise's hand. She let go as if she'd been burned, but Agata just smiled.

"You're allowed to hold hands." She said before shaking Blaise. He shot up, muttering about leaping toadstools.

"Breakfast will be served in 1 hour." Agata said before leaving the room.

"Morning..." Blaise muttered, rubbing his eyes. Elvira quickly looked away. She hadn't realised he wasn't wearing a shirt. How did she not feel that when she was hugging him? And when did he take it off?

"Good morning." She said, staring at the wall. She slid out of bed, and went over to her bag. She got out some clean clothes.

"I'm going to take a shower." She said, still not looking at the half-naked man she'd been sharing a bed with.

"Alright, I'll use the bathroom down the hall." He said, yawning.

"No, no, that's alright." Elvira said, and shot out of the room as quickly as she could. She went down the hallway as quickly as she could, and locked herself in the bathroom. She needed to sort things out in her head. Theo was alright. And she loved Theo. Draco was probably throwing tantrums, and she... She didn't want to say she loved Draco yet, but she was very fond of him. And then there was Blaise, who didn't fit into anything. He was just there, trying to be nice and sleeping without a shirt on. No feelings for Blaise, which was good. And she'd thought that all she wanted was to be with Draco, but when she found out Theo was alright... She groaned. It was the war, she told herself. If it hadn't been for the war, she probably wouldn't be questioning everything, grieving over every possible future she could have had it not been for the war. She stepped into the shower, and turned the water on. She was tired of it all. From now on she would not let a boy dictate what she should do. She would do the stereotypical Slytherin thing - she would keep herself alive, above everyone. Screw the heroics, that's what they had Gryffindors for, she thought stubbornly as she scrubbed her skin raw. And screw the Dark Lord.

By the time she got down for breakfast, she'd gotten herself in quite a mood. She'd snapped at Blaise for asking if she wanted ketchup on her eggs, yelling that he clearly didn't know her at all, and to do something really rather indecent with the ketchup bottle. He raised an eyebrow, but didn't reply. He just sat the bottle next to her, and ate the rest of his breakfast in silence.

"Alright, what's up with you this time? I thought we got past this last night..." Blaise said after he'd practically carried her out on the patio on the lake. She snorted and refused to look at him.

"I'm sick and tired of all of this! I don't want to marry you, I don't want to marry anyone! I don't want to fight for the Dark Lord, I don't want my friends to fight for him, I don't want this stupid war, and most of all, I don't want my dad to be a..." She was cut off.

"So, apart from the not wanting to marry me part, none of this really applies to me? Care to explain why you nearly killed me for passing you the ketchup then?" He said coolly, obviously not impressed by her display of anger. She scowled, not answering.

"Right. So let's try and play nicely, shall we? And let's try and work together. As it stands right now, it's the only chance we've got." Blaise continued.

"You're a condescending twat, Zabini..." Elvira muttered, and he smiled.

"And soon you'll be a condescending twat Zabini as well, so I'd be careful with that." He said. Elvira flicked him hard on the forehead.

"Shut up." She said and stomped off.

"Anything for you, my dove!" Blaise called after her. She made a rude hand gesture over her shoulder, and went inside. She did not like his playful bantering, it reminded her of Draco. And that was bad. Very bad. She marched up to the room she shared with Blaise, and sat down on the bed. She felt something crush beneath her, and sprang up to see a squashed chocolate frog sitting on the bed. She smiled, despite her mood. She tore open the packaging, and the frog pieces flipped lamely in her hand, leaving chocolatey marks all over her palm. After eating the pieces one by one, she dug out the card. She'd never really collected them, as her brother had stolen most of her sweets growing up. On one side was an empty frame, and the name of some wizard she'd heard about in history of magic. She flipped the card over to read the info on the back, but instead she found a message scribbled on the back in her brothers untidy scrawl.

_Need to talk to you._

Her eyes widened. Had he been sending her messages with the chocolate frogs all along? How could she now have noticed? And when did he become so clever? She got up and snuck into the hallway, and down towards the room her brother was sleeping in.

"Vincent!" She whispered, knocking softly on the door. It clicked open, and she slid into the room quickly. Vincent wasn't there. Someone else was though.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello! I'm sorry I haven't been able to update, but I've been so busy I haven't really had time to write lately. **

**Hope you've had a good holiday, and happy new year! **

Elvira jumped violently, staring at the figure standing in front of her, her mouth hanging open.

"Close your mouth, Elvira dear. It's not very lady-like." Narcissa Malfoy was standing by the window, looking at her with a somewhat warm smile.

"I.. I'm sorry, I was caught of guard. Is Draco alright?" Elvira said, panic rising in her throat again.

"Oh, he's fine. Sulking and childish, but I suppose me and my husband will have to take some of the blame for that, he's not used to being denied the things he wants." She said and held out a newspaper clipping, the same one Theo had sent Elvira a few days ago.

"Uhm... I thought Mr. Malfoy signed a contract with Mr. Greengrass?" Elvira said, blushing.

"Oh, he did, I'm not blaming you, dear. I'm just saying that Draco is rather unhappy about the cards he was dealt, so to speak." Narcissa said, turning to look out the window.

"Right... Not to be rude or anything, but what are you doing here?" Elvira said. She hardly thought Narcissa had come to Italy to inform her of Draco's unhappiness.

"I have been sent here to offer you a deal. And let me make it clear that I don't like this, but He thought a motherly figure might help persuade you." Narcissa said, turning towards Elvira again.

"You have not yet declared your allegiance, and the Dark Lord wishes to use this to his advantage. He's looking for Harry Potter, as I'm sure you know, and he wants you to befriend Potter's old friends to get information. If you agree, you as well as your family will be kept safe. As will my son." She continued, her eyes boring into Elvira's.

"And if I don't?" Elvira asked, her mouth feeling dry.

"You will be considered an enemy, and will be handled as such." Narcissa said.

"And my family? And Draco?" Elvira said, fearing the answer.

"He wasn't entirely clear on that, but I would guess they would be treated the same way." Narcissa answered, turning away again.

"So, I have no choice, then?" Elvira said, her knees trembling.

"There's one more option. Pledge allegiance to the Dark Lord." Narcissa said.

"Great... A lose, lose, lose situation, then..." Elvira muttered. Narcissa clutched the windowsill, her pale knuckles growing even paler.

"You have until the school year begins to inform him of your choice." She said.

"Why me?" Elvira asked, anger flaring inside her. Narcissa finally turned towards her again, and a single tear slid down her cheek.

"Your father's spoken very highly of you." Narcissa said.

"My father? He doesn't even like me!" Elvira snarled. She didn't mean to take it out on Narcissa, but she couldn't help it. She was furious.

"Of course he does! He's just..." Narcissa went silent, as though weighing her words.

"Emotionally retarded?" Elvira offered, and Narcissa granted her a half-smile.

"I was going to say pureblood, but I suppose it's more or less the same. For what it's worth, we did try and convince Him to choose someone else, but he insisted. Seeing as you're not as unpopular as many of the other Slytherins." Narcissa said, and reached into her pocket. Elvira thought she was pulling out the newspaper clipping again, but it was an envelope.

"I also carry a message from Lucius. Protect our son, and you will be free to do as you wish with this." She said, and handed the envelope to Elvira.

"What is it?" Elvira asked. Narcissa was pulling on a pair of white gloves, straightening her back and heading towards the door.

"I don't know." She said, then she bowed her head and left the room, leaving Elvira alone with her thoughts.

"Are you serious? This is bad. Really bad. What was in the envelope?" Blaise asked when Elvira had told him what happened. She glanced over at her bag, where she'd hidden it.

"I haven't opened it yet. It's obviously something that will persuade me to do whatever Lucius wants me to do, and I want to make this decision on my own. I'm not opening it before I've notified them about my choice." She said, sighing. Blaise awkwardly patted her shoulder.

"Any idea what you're going to do?" He asked.

"Well... I assume that pledging allegiance means taking the mark, which is out of the question. But I don't know if I want to run away either. That would probably mean my family gets killed. But I really don't want to help Him either. So I honestly don't know what to do." She said rubbing her temples.

"Open the envelope. Maybe it'll give you something that'll make the decision easier." Blaise offered, but Elvira shook her head.

"He's trying to manipulate me, and I won't let him." She said stubbornly.

"He's trying to save his son. He might be desperate enough to give you something good. Want me to open it, and see what it is? I can tell you if it's good or bad." Blaise said. Elvira thought about it before nodding. She went over to her bag, fished the envelope out and handed it to Blaise. He opened it and pulled out a three page letter. He cast one look at it and whistled.

"What? Is it good or bad?" Elvira said, willing herself not to snatch the letter out of his hand.

"Good, I suppose. And expensive. Which probably means he's desperate." Blaise said and folded the letter.

"Should I look?" She whispered.

"I don't know. Given our current situation, I'm not sure how much good it will do you." He said.

"What the hell does that mean?" Elvira hissed.

"I honestly don't know how to explain..." He began, but he stopped when Elvira grabbed the letter. She opened it and yelped as soon as she'd read the headline.

"Yeah..." Blaise said sympathetically. Elvira stared down at the letter, her hand trembling.

"He _is_ trying to manipulate me." Elvira said through clenched teeth. Lucius had sent her a copy of the marriage agreement between Draco and Astoria Greengrass, with the implication that she could destroy it if she agreed to keep Draco safe. And she saw what Blaise had meant by expensive as well. Should any of the parties withdraw from the agreement, they'd had to pay more Galleons than even the Crabbe family owned.

"Yes, he's giving you the guy that you love on a silver platter, with a pretty please and a bow on top. What a bastard." Blaise said sarcastically. Elvira growled and flung herself on the bed.

"He knows that destroying this won't help me one bit, now that I'm stuck with you. It would make Draco free from his contract, but I would still be bound to mine. And quite frankly, I'm insulted that he really thought I was that stupid." Elvira said, sneering at the contract.

"I'm sorry, but it needs to be said. You're a Crabbe, Elvira. The Malfoy's have been twisting Crabbe's around their fingers for centuries." Blaise said, and Elvira threw a pillow at him.

"Well, he won't be twisting me around his finger." Elvira said, crossing her arms and pouting. Blaise chuckled.

"Isn't that adorable? And while he may not, his son certainly has." He said and Elvira was hit by a sudden, fierce anger. She shoved Blaise against the headboard of the bed with her forearm, and fixed him with a murderous glare. The reason she was so mad was because he was right. She was no better than her stupid father.

"Shut up, Zabini. You don't know me, stop pretending you do." She growled. He was thoroughly unimpressed though.

"Oh, calm down." He said, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her carefully off off him. Elvira didn't fight it.

"Fine. I'm going to sleep." She said and rolled back over to her side before pulling the covers all the way up to her ears. Blaise turned the lights off and she felt the mattress dip as he got comfortable. She remained stubbornly silent when he tried talking to her, and after a while he gave up. She felt miserable, and unsure of everything. Lucius' little message had had the opposite effect of what he was hoping. She kind of wanted to defy everyone and run away, just to show him he couldn't control her. But she didn't think she could live with Draco being killed because of her. She sniffed loudly, not entirely sure when she'd started crying.

"You alright?" Blaise asked.

"No." Elvira sobbed. Blaise scooted closer, and placed his hand on her arm. Elvira turned around and burried her face in his chest, crying. He patted her awkwardly on the head.

"Hey, we'll manage. Us against the world, right?" He said lamely, but Elvira appreciated the effort.

"If you ever tell anyone about this, I'll kill you." She said, still sobbing. He snorted and they fell silent. A while later, Elvira was awoken by a loud snore. She looked up and saw Blaise's mouth hanging open. She smiled to herself and turned around, his arm hanging limply over the side of her waist. When she really thought it through, she supposed it was a miracle she hadn't been asked to do anything before now, even if he'd said none of them would have to serve him just yet. And they'd been naïve to think marrying Blaise would get her out of it. She was sure Vincent was doing something too, but if it was because he was basically threatened to do so, or out of free will, she wasn't sure. Vincent had always looked up to their father. The thought made her sad. He'd been acting more like a brother lately than he had in 16 years. The thought of losing him now felt much worse than it had before, and that made her feel ashamed of herself. He had always been her brother, even if he was a bit of an idiot. She thought back to when they were younger, playing in the garden. And then she thought of her mother. She couldn't let them die, and the Dark Lord knew it.

She slid silently out of bed and sat down by the desk. She rummaged quietly through the drawers to find some parchment and a quill and ink. The only parchment she could find was stamped with a large, curly Z, probably for Zabini, and she figured it would send the perfect message. She scribbled down a hasty note and tucked it into the envelope Narcissa had handed her, along with the contract. She then wrote a second note, smirking to herself. Then she went back to bed and waited for Blaise to wake up, so she could send it.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Draco sat in his room, staring miserably out of the window, on the misty garden. There was a knock on his door, and his father entered, looking far too pleased with himself. He handed Draco a note. There was a large Z stamped on the parchment, and he felt anger coiling in the pit of his stomach when he saw Elvira's handwriting. What, they were living together now? Already? He read the note quickly.

_Mr. Malfoy_

_Thank you for your generous offer, but as I'm sure you already know, I am engaged to Blaise Zabini, which would have made the annulment of this contract useless. I think you underestimated my intelligence when you made such an offer. I know what you were trying to do, but as I'm sure you know, my own family is also in danger should I refuse, so you really didn't need to go to such lengths. _

_Elvira Crabbe_

"I like her, she's got a sharp mind. She would have been a perfect Malfoy." Lucius said, an evil smirk creeping across his face. Draco handed him the note back calmly, not wanting his father to think he'd won.

"Yes, she would." He said simply, and turned away. Lucius chuckled. Draco felt as miserable as ever. His mother came into the room, looking flustered.

"Draco, we need to talk. A letter just arrived and..."

"I know. Father already showed it to me." He said, cutting his mother off.

"No, no. A letter for the Dark Lord. It's from Elvira." His mother said, looking terrified. He furrowed his brow and his fathers smirk slid off his face.

"Did she not accept the mission?" Draco said, feeling uneasy.

"Oh, she did. But she asked to have the terms changed. Or rather, she demanded." His mother said, straightening her robes.

"Well? What are the new terms?" Draco asked. If he knew Elvira, and he was pretty sure he did, she was going to punish Lucius for his nerve.

"That Blaise and Agata Zabini are now a part of her family, and for them to be kept safe." Narcissa said, looking at Draco with teary eyes.

"And let me guess... I'm on my own?" Draco said, and his mother nodded while his father looked so furious he might pass out. She'd essentially told Lucius to sod off and try harder if he wanted to fool her. He didn't think he'd ever been as fond of anyone as he was of her at that moment. Or hated anyone as much as he hated Zabini, for that matter.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"You did what?" Blaise hissed at Elvira when she told him about what she'd written in her letters.

"Do you really want me to repeat it, or...?" She said

"This could backfire. We need to get those owls back." He said and ran to the window as though he could grab their tails.

"No, we don't. I wouldn't be surprised if Draco was only a part of the leverage because Lucius insisted." Elvira said.

"Still, this could put him in danger, Elvira. It could put me in danger." Blaise said, turning to face her.

"You'll be fine, it's part of the deal. And his safety wouldn't have been offered if He was planning to kill Draco." Elvira said, and she was almost certain of it. Almost.

"My safety hasn't been promised yet! And what if you fail?" Blaise said.

"The Dark Lord always knows when someone lies to him. I'll try my best to get information, but if I can't, he'll know I've tried. He must know it won't be easy for a Slytherin - a child of a death eater no less, to befriend a bunch of Gryffindors." She said, ignoring what he'd said about his own safety. She had not thought about that.

"I don't like it. It seems too simple. He's not going to go easy on you just because 'you tried'." He said, raking his fingers through his dark hair.

"I don't have much choice." Elvira said, sitting down on the bed.

"Well, you could have done it without the taunting..." Blaise muttered, and Elvira smiled.

"No, I couldn't." She said. She just hoped Draco knew her as well as she thought he did, and that he wouldn't fly off the handles when he found out. They went downstairs for breakfast, where an entirely different kind of surprise was waiting for them.

"So, we have discussed, and we think it would be good for the two of you if you spent some time together the remaining week of the summer. Your relationship is already blossoming, and it's only been 3 days." Agata said halfway through breakfast. Elvira choked on her eggs, and Blaise slapped her on the back, remaining as calm as ever. She really wished she knew how all the Slytherin boys did that.

"Oh, Elvira. It shouldn't come as a surprise to you. This is the man you're going to spend the rest of your life with, raise a family with. You need to get to know each other properly." Agata continued, but this did nothing to calm Elvira's nerves. She just nodded weakly.

"Now, you can either stay here or you can spend time together back home, either at Crabbe manor or our house." Agata finished, and Blaise looked at Elvira.

"May we discuss it in private?" He said calmly. His mother nodded, and he grabbed Elvira's arm, and pulled her outside.

"Ok, you need to stop freaking out. What do you think I'm going to do? Force you to have my children and lock you up forever to keep you around? Just because my mother is planning ahead, we don't need to. So stop freaking out." Blaise said sternly, and Elvira suddenly felt silly.

"Sorry..." She muttered.

"Don't be. But it's hurting my ego when you look that terrified at the thought of spending time with me." He said, and Elvira smiled.

"Good, your ego needs a bit of bruising." She said.

"So, how do you want to play this?" He asked, smirking.

"I want to go home." She said, and Blaise nodded.

"Alright then." He said and headed back inside to the dining room, where their parents were waiting expectantly.

"We have decided we want to go back to England." Blaise announced, and his mother and Elvira's father started making plans immediately.

"Let's go for a walk after breakfast, talk things through." Elvira's mother suggested.

"So, how are you doing? What did Narcissa want?" Her mother said as soon as they were out of earshot of the others. Elvira sighed and explained what Narcissa had said, and about the letters she'd sent.

"Oh, Elvira." Her mother said, looking worried.

"What?" She said defiantly, but her mother just gave her a look that made her feel like a child that had been caught with her hand in the biscuit tin.

"How're things going with Blaise?" Her mother asked as she sat down on a bench at the edge of the garden.

"Alright, all things considered. But I don't like it. It clearly hasn't protected me. Narcissa said dad had talked highly about me to the Dark Lord, which means he probably knew I'd be asked to do something, and still did this. Come to think of it, that's probably why he was in such a rush." Elvira said, connecting the dots as she spoke. Her mothers brow furrowed.

"I should have known... I'm so sorry, Ellie. I should have done more to stop this. I really thought you'd be safe, I thought... I..." Her mother said, blinking rapidly.

"It's alright, mum. No one's safe in a war anyway, right?" Elvira said glumly.

"You're barely 16, you're just a child. I should have protected you, both of you. We should have run away when we had the chance." Her mother said, tears streaming down her face. Elvira looked at her. While she should probably have been angry with her mother for not having done anything before it was too late, she couldn't. It wasn't her fault that the old pureblood families were messed up. Elvira knew it was hard to go against something you'd been brought up to think. She had even agreed to marry someone just to stay out of trouble, because for some reason, that's what girls in her position did.

"You can't blame yourself, mum. I agreed to it. And when it comes to missions for the Dark Lord, I definitely got the better end of it." She said, kicking at a tuft of grass.

"That makes me more nervous than anything else." Her mother said, and they fell silent. Elvira wasn't entirely sure which part of what she'd said made her mother nervous, but she thought it was the last. She hadn't even thought about it like that. What if it was a trap?

"Let's go and pack. We'll be heading home this evening." Her mother said, smoothing her robes as she stood up. Elvira nodded and followed her inside, and went up to her room. She threw her things into her bag at random, before closing it and heading downstairs.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"So, this is where you'll be sleeping, Blaise." Elvira's mother said, opening the door to one of their guest bedrooms. Miss Zabini and Elvira's father had decided Blaise would spend the last few days of the holidays in Crabbe manor, so that Agata wouldn't have to go back to England until Christmas. Neither of them had protested, thinking it would be easier to just go along with it.

"Don't be silly, Ada, he'll be sleeping in Elvira's room." Her father said, waving his large hand.

"I really don't feel comfortable with that, Frederick. They're not married yet." Her mother insisted. Elvira's father narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"It's alright, mum, I don't mind." Elvira said quickly. Her father beamed at her, and helped Blaise haul his Hogwarts trunk up another flight of stairs, and into Elvira's room.

"You don't have to do this, Elvira." Her mother said, looking sad.

"Really, it's alright. He's not that bad. Snores a bit, but I'll manage." Elvira said, forcing a smile. Her mother smiled back, and they walked upstairs, where Elvira's father was telling Blaise about mealtimes. He had his hand on Blaise's shoulder, and Elvira couldn't help but smirk at the terrified expression on Blaise's face.

The days went by fairly quickly, all things considered. They didn't really talk much, but they spent just about every waking moment together. Elvira was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, her father had done this to make things a bit easier on her. She found that it wasn't as terrifying to think about a lifetime with Blaiseness after she'd spent some more time with him. Sure, he wasn't her first pick, and she wasn't his, but at least they'd gotten a chance to get to know each other, and sort of live with each other, before they had to get married. Whatever the reason was, Elvira felt grateful. If she'd just been shoved into a wedding dress and walked down the aisle in two years time, things would have been worse. The alarm clock went off, and Blaise snored loudly, as if in response. Elvira poked him hard on the forehead, and he sat up.

"Breakfast time." Elvira said, and Blaise slammed back down on the bed.

"Not hungry." He muttered.

"Fine. But you have to be ready to leave in 2 hours." She said before getting out of bed, and heading downstairs. She ate a hurried breakfast, hoping to get in the shower before Blaise got up. She jogged upstairs with a plate of toast for Blaise, which her mother had insisted she bring him, and the rest of her tea. She cursed silently when she heard the shower running as she entered the room. She sat his toast on the desk, and went over to her big squishy armchair.

"Oh, hi." Blaise said, coming out of the bathroom about 10 minutes later, wrapped in only a towel.

"Hi." She said.

"I wouldn't have walked around here half naked if I knew you were coming back so quickly." He said apologetically.

"It's alright." Elvira said, sipping her tea. So quickly? It's been nearly an hour, she thought.

"I'll just grab some clothes then..." He said, walking over to his trunk. Elvira watched him silently for a while.

"You're dripping all over your underpants, you know." She said over the rim of her teacup.

"Thanks." He murmured and grabbed a pair before closing the trunk. He shuffled back to the bathroom, and emerged a couple of minutes later, with his robes buttoned wrong, his black hair was sticking up straight up. Elvira sat her cup down, got up and walked over to him, and silently began unbuttoning his lopsided robes. Neither of them said a word as she carefully righted the robes, and closed them again. She adjusted the collar of his shirt and tied his Slytherin tie properly.

"There. I can't have my future husband walking around looking like that." She said, as she combed his hair with her fingers. He just stared at her.

"There's toast for you over there." Elvira said, then she grabbed her uniform, and went into the bathroom to get ready.

When she got out, her trunk, Blaise's trunk and Blaise were gone. She looked at the clock and saw that it was almost 10. She did a quick scan of the room, to see if she'd forgotten anything, before going downstairs.

"Ah, there you are! Can you believe it, were actually done on time this year." Her mother said, getting up as Elvira entered the sitting room. She went over the the door, and called Elvira's father and Vincent, before ushering Elvira and Blaise into the hall. They all said their goodbyes to Elvira's father, before heading into the library to use the floo. Blaise went first, Elvira going after him. She shot out of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron with her trunk. Blaise smirked at her, and brushed her cheek.

"Soot. I can't have my future wife walking around with soot on her face." He said, still smirking. Elvira rolled her eyes, and narrowly avoided being tripped by Vincent and his trunk. Their mother came last, and they all hurried out, towards King's cross station.

Everything went smoothly, which wasn't a common occurrence. Ten to eleven, they'd all hauled their trunks on the train, gotten glared at by Draco Malfoy, and nearly tripped over a tiny first year when they were going out to say goodbye to Elvira's mother. She hugged and kissed them all, promising to write and then she ushered them on the train to find compartments.

"Let's not sit with Mr. Grumpyface." Blaise said, nodding towards the compartment Vincent disappeared into. Draco was sitting with his arms crossed, ignoring them. Elvira sighed and nodded, and they continued down the corridor. Astoria motioned for Elvira to come and sit with them, but she just hurried past. Eventually they found a compartment where Pansy sat sulking on her own.

"Do we have to?" Blaise whined. Elvira ignored him and opened the door.

"Hi Pansy. Do you mind? Everywhere else is full." She said, and Pansy shrugged. They figured she didn't mind, and after a lot of swearing, they got their trunks onto the shelves.

"So, Slytherin's new golden couple..." Pansy said, eyeing them.

"Yeah, whatever." Blaise said, pursing his lips. After that, no one said a word in what had to be two hours. Elvira fidgeted, feeling uncomfortable.

"Would you just go and talk to him? You're driving me crazy!" Blaise said suddenly.

"What? I don't want to talk to him." She said, a little too quickly. Blaise and Pansy exchanged a look, and rolled their eyes in unison, as if they'd been practising. As it turned out, Elvira didn't have to go and find Draco. The door slid open.

"Zabini, a word." Draco said, and Blaise looked at him.

"I don't think so." He said.

"Not you." Draco said, and Elvira nearly slid out of her seat.

"I'm the only one here, Malfoy." Blaise said through clenched teeth.

"Really? So you decided to keep your maiden name then?" Draco said, finally looking at Elvira.

"Oh, sod off, Draco. Your own bride is just down the hallway, go bother her." She said, glaring at him.

"I still want a word." He said calmly.

"Just go, or else we won't get rid of him." Pansy said. Elvira growled and got up. She pushed passed Draco, and continued down the corridor. She found a spot that was away from prying eyes, and turned around to glare some more at Draco.

"What do you want then?" She said, crossing her arms.

"Do you love him?" He asked suddenly.

"What? No, of course not." Elvira said, utterly confused.

"You looked awfully close." Draco said, narrowing his eyes.

"Ok, you have got to stop this, this jealousy or protectiveness or whatever. You. Are. Not. My. Boyfriend. You made that choice yourself when you ran straight from my house back to Pansy, which by the way fooled no one, so it was completely useless. You chose this, so you'll just have to live with it." Elvira said, and Draco punched the wall.

"Classy..." Elvira muttered.

"I didn't know this would happen! I didn't know any of this, had I known I would have..." He started, but Elvira interrupted him.

"What? Not been a complete idiot? Asked me to marry you? Come on... You wouldn't have done anything, you never have." Elvira said, crossing her arms again. Draco's nostrils flared.

"Well, what did you do then?" He said childishly.

"What did you want me to do? Molest you? Torture you until you admitted you liked me?" Elvira said, louder than she should have. Draco turned away from her.

"I wasn't drunk..." He muttered.

"What?" She said angrily.

"Last summer, I wasn't drunk." He said, so low Elvira barely heard him.

"Well, congratulations." She said acidly. He turned around again, staring angrily at her.

"I'm not the only one who's being difficult here. Whenever I've tried to tell you, you've been like this. You're impossible to talk to when you're like this." He said, waving his arms.

"What the hell are you on about?" She said.

"Last summer. I wanted to tell you... But I needed a plan in case it went wrong. So I decided to pretend to be drunk, so I could just blame it on the alcohol in case anything went wrong. But you were being snarky, and then you kicked me..."

"You turned up at my doorstep at 1 in the morning, seemingly drunk. Of course I was snarky." Elvira interrupted.

"Will you shut up? I'm trying to tell you something!" He said.

"Then say it, you idiot! Hang on... If you weren't drunk. In my bedroom." Elvira said, her eyes going wide. Draco turned slightly pink.

"That wasn't my fault. I didn't know you were going to do that." He said, averting his eyes.

"It doesn't matter. What is it you were trying to tell me, that was so bad you had to pretend to be drunk to say it?" She said, still feeling absolutely mortified.

"Good grief, you're dense sometimes." Draco muttered.

"I hardly think that was it." Elvira said unhelpfully.

"I lo..like you, for Merlin's sake! Do you have to be so difficult!?" He shouted.

"Will you two keep it down?" Said a voice from somewhere down the corridor.

"Shut up!" Draco and Elvira said in unison.

"Well, as romantic as that was..." Elvira began. Draco growled.

"Just forget it." He said and turned to leave.

"Draco, wait! I lo..like you too." She said. He snorted and disappeared down the corridor. Elvira stood there for a couple of minutes to calm down before heading back to her compartment, where Blaise and Pansy sat smirking at her when she entered. They didn't say anything, but when the lady with the trolley rolled around, and asked them if they wanted something, they made it clear that they'd heard her and Draco, by announcing they'd lo..like something to drink.

"Oh, shut up." Elvira grumbled.


	18. Chapter 18

Hola! This chapter starts with sort of a flashback, written from Draco's point of view. The flashback starts a couple of weeks before his father got arrested:)

Enjoy!

Draco walked down to the lake, watching the Giant squid splash around lazily. It was a sunny day, the first proper one this year. He walked towards a large tree, and to his dismay, the very person he was hoping to avoid was sat under it. She looked up at him.

"Can I help you?" She said.

"What are you doing here,El... Crabbe." he said stupidly, cursing himself silently. He usually tried to call her by her last name. She cocked her eyebrow.

"El Crabbe?" She said, smiling.

"Yes, it's your new nickname. Now what are you doing under my tree?" He demanded, and she had the nerve to laugh.

"Your tree? It's not your tree, Draco. If it was, I'm sure your daddy would have bought you a nice plaque to go with it." She said, turning her attention back to her book.

"Oh, how original." He replied, sitting down beside her.

"Are you sure you want to sit on the grass? Might stain your robes, you know." She said, still focusing on her book.

"Well, you're certainly in a good mood today." Draco said, leaning against the trunk of the tree. Crabbe 2 shrugged, but didn't reply.

"Why are you always down here? Are you stalking me?" Draco said after a couple of minutes of silence. Crabbe 2 closed her book slowly, and slipped it into her bag.

"No, I was beginning to think you were stalking me. You need to work on your stealth, by the way, it's hopeless." She said, pushing her hair out of her face as a gust of wind swept it all over the place. It smelled like blueberries.

"Very funny. This has always been my tree." Draco said defiantly.

"The loss of it must have been bad if you've regressed to your 4 year old self." She said and got up. Draco didn't have a clever comeback, so he pretended he hadn't heard her.

"I'll leave you two alone, sort things out." She continued as she slung her bag over her shoulder and walked towards the castle. Draco stared after her. This kept happening. They met under the tree, threw snarky comments at each other, which usually resulted in one of them leaving. Draco didn't know what to make of it, he both hated it and looked forward to it. He sighed dramatically and got up. He didn't want to be down here when she wasn't around, though he tried to blame it on the winds picking up.

Three days later, Draco sat under the tree when Elvira came towards him. Damn it, Crabbe 2, not Elvira.

"Imagine seeing you here." She said dryly and plonked down on the grass, taking of her shoes and socks. Her toenails were painted a violent shade of orange. She shrugged her bag off her shoulder, and leaned back on it, closing her eyes. She let out a content sigh. Draco wanted to say something about invading his privacy, but the words stuck in his throat. He didn't want her to leave this time. He looked sideways at her, noticing a small cluster of freckles just on the bridge of her nose. His eyes trailed further down, and he thought to himself that he'd finally found where she stored all that food. He blinked and shook his head at that thought, directing his stare to the doors to the castle. She was a Crabbe, the sister of his friend.

"You're awfully quiet today, I haven't been insulted once. I feel cheated." She said, opening one of her eyes. Draco noticed golden specks in the warm brown and mentally shook himself again. Stop it, you idiot.

"I'm not in the mood." He said. Elvira sat up and eyed him suspiciously.

"Ok, spill. You're always in the mood to insult someone." She said.

"Why should I tell you anything?" He said stubbornly.

"For one, I'd say you have to give me something in return for staring at my tits." She said, holding his gaze.

"I wasn't staring, I was just.. I wasn't looking at them, I just looked in your general direction. I was thinking about something completely different." He fumbled, and she smiled.

"I'm just teasing you, Draco." She said, leaning forward on her knees, wrapping her arms around them, the smile still on her face.

"Why do you insist on calling me by my first name?" He blurted out.

"Because it unnerves you. Always has." She said, digging her orange-painted toes into the grass.

"_You_ unnerve me." He said, his brow furrowed.

"Why, thank you." She said, resting her chin on her arms, looking at Draco, a crooked smile still on her lips. For some reason, Draco couldn't tear his eyes away from her.

"It wasn't a compliment." He said, though he wasn't sure what he'd meant.

"Sure it was. You just don't realise it yet." She said. Draco wondered if she was doing that thing again, when she just happened to know exactly what he was thinking.

"How do you do that?" He blurted out. He'd been doing that a lot lately, usually under this tree.

"Do what?" She asked, tilting her head. Draco hesitated. If he admitted she'd been right the couple of times they'd actually talked, there was no going back. Unless he obliviated her. He'd keep it as a back-up plan.

"How do you always seem to know what I'm thinking?" He said, finally looking away.

"I don't know. I guess there's still traces of human in your face." She said.

"My face?" He asked perplexed.

"Yeah, your facial expressions. Whenever you're thrown off guard, you show emotion. From there on out it's mainly guesswork." She said.

"Like now. Confusion, fear and something else. I can never interpret that last one, it's fairly new." She continued, narrowing her eyes as though trying to get a better look.

"Fairly new? Have you been ogling me?" He asked, trying to bring the conversation back to something that didn't make him feel as uncomfortable as emotions.

"Yes, Draco, I follow you around, staring at you, so I can unnerve you by reading your facial expressions." She said, rolling her eyes. He smirked.

"Oh, I'm sure there's another reason." He said.

"Yeah, you're right. I do it because I love the way your face looks whenever Pansy gets close." She replied, making a pained face.

"That's how you look." She said.

"I'm much more handsome than that!" Draco said in mock outrage.

"You're really not." Elvira replied, stretching her legs and pulling her socks back on.

"Going somewhere?" Draco asked.

"Dinner." She said, tapping her wristwatch.

"Right." Draco muttered. Elvira stood up and slipped her feet into her shoes.

"I get off at 2 tomorrow. I'll be here after that." She said before turning to leave.

The next day,Draco wasn't feeling optimistic. When he finished his last class for the day, it had been streaming down outside. He walked down to the entrance hall and looked outside, and to his great surprise, Elvira was under the tree, sitting in a large, muddy puddle, scribbling hastily on a piece of parchment. He walked outside and shuddered as the icy cold droplets hit his face. He walked briskly towards her, and when he got closer he noticed that she seemed to be floating just above the puddle, and the raindrops bounced away from her about three inches over her head.

"Cushioning charm for the puddle, shield charm for the rain." She said brightly, looking up at him.

"Why?" He said, shivering slightly.

"I said I'd be here, and I figured you'd come. Sit down, before you drown." She said, motioning to a spot beside her in the puddle. Figuring he couldn't get any wetter, Draco sat down. To his immense relief, he didn't sink into the mud. He took out his wand and began drying his robes.

"You're mad, you know that, right?" He said, glancing over at her.

"Yeah, but I've got redeeming social values." She said, jotting down the final words of her essay before rolling up her parchment and slipping it into her bag. Draco didn't answer. They sat in silence for a while before Elvira suddenly stood up and held out her hand.

"Come on." She said. Draco took her hand apprahensively and stood up. She pulled him into the rain.

"Let loose." She whispered, before pulling him after her, and throwing him into a puddle.

"Are you insane? What the hell was that for!?" Draco sputtered, spitting mud out of his mouth. Elvira slid into the puddle after him, grinning wildly.

"You need to stop being so serious. You're 15, you're supposed to be doing stupid things, getting into trouble. Now roll!" She said, pushing him down into the mud again. He would never admit it, but rolling around in puddles was actually a lot of fun.

"Alright, alright! I get it!" He said after she'd smeared mud in his hair, laughing loudly. He looked at her, splattered in mud, her eyes twinkling with glee, and he knew he was in trouble. Not because of his muddy robes, but because he wanted to kiss her.

"There it is again! That strange, far-away look. I wonder if it's the nargles." She said, smearing even more mud on her chin when she touched it in contemplation.

"The what?" Draco asked, pulling himself back to reality. Vincent's little sister. A Crabbe.

"This girl in my year talks about them all the time. Blames them for everything." Elvira said, grinning.

"Oh. Right. Well, we should get inside, it's getting cold." Draco said and Elvira nodded. She stood up and bounded towards the tree to get her bag, before heading for the castle.

"Aren't you going to clean up first?" Draco called after her.

"And miss an opportunity to piss Filch off?" She replied before disappearing into the castle.

Of course, it was too good to last. After the puddle-diving, things got tense between them. They still met under the tree and talked, but Elvira seemed distant. Or maybe he was distant, he wasn't sure. But he'd always been trying for distant, so that as a good thing, right?

Wrong. He realised that one day when he'd seen her talking to a guy in her year - Colm something. They'd only talked briefly, in passing, on the way to and from lunch, but when Draco saw her stopping to talk to him, he'd wanted to throw his fork at him, and preferably hit him in the eye, though he wasn't fuzzy as long as it hurt. When Elvira had smiled tentatively at him before taking his seat, he'd been too busy plotting Colm's murder to smile back, which didn't help matters. He had no idea where this fierce possessiveness came from, or why he suddenly wanted to spend a lot more time with Elvira. Alright, he did, but he wasn't going to admit it, even to himself. It wasn't how it was supposed to happen. He didn't believe in all that sappy stuff. He had always thought that love was something writers had made up to sell more books, and that all the gut-wrenchingly disgusting stuff they wrote was just a part of the same scheme. But lately he had found himself being gut-wrenchingly disgusting. He'd even gone as far as to go to the library and find a book on the matter. It had been somewhat of a comfort to find that witches and wizards, typically between the ages of 13 and 17, were more susceptible to such nonsense, but it still didn't explain how he'd gotten into the situation. Over a Crabbe, no less.

He found his last remaining denial were shattered completely after his father had been arrested, and Elvira had been her usual, understanding self, even inviting him to stay with them over the summer. He spent weeks perfecting his plan on how to go about telling her, and finally came up with the idea of feigning inebriation. If something went wrong, he could blame it on the whiskey. He was half-hoping it would all go away if he just told her. It had been a brilliant plan, until he saw her. It had gone even worse after she'd kicked him in the crotch. And then of course, he'd seen her naked, which didn't help matters in the slightest. All in all, the night had been ok. And for some reason, he'd decided to stay another night. And he'd kissed her, which was a complete fiasco. Then she'd kissed him, which was also a complete fiasco. So he took his sopping wet robes and fled.

And then came the biggest fiasco of them all. One afternoon a couple of days after his visit to Elvira, which did nothing to stop the disturbing thoughts he was having about her, his mother had come into the room and told him that the Dark Lord had requested an audience.

"So, Draco." The Dark Lord said in a low, hissing voice. Draco kept quiet, his eyes bouncing between his mother and his aunt Bellatrix.

"How was your stay with your pretty little friend?" He continued, his voice full of malice. Draco fidgeted. He wanted to say something like 'I don't think Vincent is all that good looking myself', but he figured that wouldn't help matters. The Dark Lord grinned as if he knew what he was thinking.

"No matter, it's not what you're here for. You see, the majority of my most faithful Death Eaters are currently being held in Azkaban. And I have someone I need to... Dispose of. I want you to do it. Your father has served me well, in the past." The Dark Lord said. Draco felt as if his blood had turned to ice.

"Who is it my Lord." He said with forced calm.

"Albus Dumbledore." The Dark Lord replied, an eerie smile creeping across his face. Draco was too stunned to answer. How could he possibly think a 15 year old could kill Dumbledore?

"Ah, but perhaps you need more motivation." He said, still smiling his creepy smile. Draco's head filled with gruesome images of his Elvira, screaming, trying to get away, and Voldemort's voice hissing 'you don't want this to happen to your pretty little plaything, do you?'.

"No!" Draco said, sinking to his knees.

"So we have an agreement then?" The Dark Lord said, and Draco nodded.

"Good, you are excused! Narcissa, send for Severus." He continued, turning away from Draco as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Draco got up shakily and walked to his room.

Later that week, he'd taken the mark. He'd hesitated when the Lord had asked for his arm, and once again the disgusting images had popped up in his mind. Not that he'd needed to do that again, it was hard to forget once you're seen them.

"And remember, if you fail, both you and your friend will be punished most severely." He whispered after branding Draco's left arm.

Draco sighed and turned over in bed for what must have been the hundredth time that night. Why couldn't his head just get the message that Elvira Crabbe was unattainable. Unless your name was Theodore Nott or Blaise Zabini. He sat up and scowled at Nott's empty bed before shifting his gaze over to Zabini. Then he threw back his covers and went down into the common room. The lights were off, and the fire had nearly died out in the fireplace, but someone was still sitting there, staring into the glowing embers.

"Pansy?" Draco said and she jumped.

"Merlin, don't do that!" She said, glaring at him.

"Sorry. What are you doing up?" He asked, sitting down in a chair across from her.

"Same as you, I suppose. Couldn't sleep." She said, clutching a mug.

"Right." Draco muttered.

"For what it's worth, she's crazy about you too." Pansy said suddenly, fixing him with an intense stare.

"You've never even talked to her." Draco said, leaning back in his chair.

"Sure I have. We made peace earlier tonight, in fact." She said, that taunting, gossip-y smile spreading across her face. It was hard not to take the bait.

"Good for you." Draco said, shrugging.

"Yeah. She reckons you only want her because you can't have her. She said you only ever make an effort when she's out of bounds." Pansy said casually, taking a sip from her mug.

"That's not true!" Draco said, jumping to his feet. There was no point denying his obsession to Pansy, after all, she'd been on the receiving end of his continued rants on Theo Nott all of last year.

"I wouldn't know." She said.

"What else did she say?" Draco asked in spite of himself, sitting back down.

"I promised not to tell you." Pansy said, setting her mug down and stretching.

"What!? But you just told me..." Draco started, but stopped when he saw the grin on Pansy's face.

"Yeah, but she said that before the part she made me promise not to tell you." Pansy said, curling up on the sofa.

"You're a bitch, Pansy." He grumbled.

"I try. But just a word of advice, it might help you if you actually made an effort instead of running around here like a jealous prat." She said. Draco opened his mouth to protest, but quickly closed it again, comprehension dawning on him.

"There you go. Always been a little slow, haven't you, dear." Pansy said with a condescending tone.

"It doesn't matter. Not anymore." Draco said, feeling dejected.

"Sure it does! No one is ever faithful in these arranged marriages anyway." Pansy said, waving her hand dismissively.

"Did she say anything about Zabini?" Draco asked, dreading the answer.

"Apparently he snores a lot." She said, pursing her lips.

"He snores?" He said, his voice cracking.

"Oh, don't assume the worst. For all we know he fell asleep somewhere and Elvira walked in." Pansy said, struggling to keep her eyes open.

"Go to bed." Draco said, getting up. Pansy sighed and sat up.

"It'll work out, Draco." She said sympathetically before slumping towards the door to the girl's dormitory.

As it turned out, not being a jealous prat was very hard. It seemed that Elvira and Zabini had this running joke about straightening each others ties, which was a much more intimate activity than Draco's frayed nerves could handle. The ironic thing was, if he could have talked to Elvira about it, things probably wouldn't have gotten this bad. But there's just no easy way of sitting down with someone and telling that someone you're completely obsessed with them. He stood up and walked stiffly over to Elvira, who was standing by herself, rummaging through her book bag.

"Hi Draco." She said granting him a quick smile before returning her attention to her bag.

"Yes, hello." He said. Elvira stopped her rummaging and looked up at him apprahensively.

"Are you here to make a fuss about the tie thing?" She asked, looking worried. That hurt more than Draco could have predicted.

"No, I wanted to know if you'd join me this tomorrow at noon, for a picnic." He said, sounding like an idiot. Her face brightened.

"Oh. Sure." She said, smiling.

"Great. Well, I'll see you around then." He said awkwardly before turning around and hurrying out of the common room.

The next day, he started pacing at eight thirty and didn't stop until Elvira showed up. He'd never actually done this before, and while he couldn't imagine anything less romantic than a Death Eater infested school, he'd done what Pansy had told him and made an effort. He'd asked the house elves to prepare everything, because he really had no idea what you needed for a picnic. He really had no idea about any of this.

"Hello!" Elvira's cheerful voice said behind him. He plastered on his best imitation of a smile and turned around.

"Hi." He said.

"Merlin, that's terrifying! You should stick to smirking." Elvira said, grinning at him. He smirked back.

"I tried." He said, offering his arm. She took his hand instead.

"So, where are we going?" She asked as they walked out of the common room.

"If you haven't guessed, I'm not telling." He said. They walked up the stairs, out of the dungeons and into the entrance hall. The rain was pouring down outside, which really was perfect.

"Oh. You remembered." Elvira said, taking out her wand to cast a shielding charm on both of them.

"How could I possibly forget nearly being drowned in a muddy puddle?" Draco asked and Elvira chuckled. A blanket was already laid out under the tree they'd sat under so many times, a large, wicker basket sitting on top of it.

"When did you have time to do this?" Elvira asked in wonder, plopping ungraciously down on the blanket.

"I asked a house elf to help me." Draco admitted, sitting down beside her.

"Well, it's lovely. What's the occasion?" She asked, grabbing some grapes that were scattered artistically around the blanket.

"Nothing in particular. I just wanted to talk to you, away from prying eyes." He said, noticing that she'd taken off her engagement ring. Ha, Draco 1, Blaise 0.

"Really? I'm going to need to surround myself with more people then, if I get a picnic when you want to talk to me. Do you mind if I start eating? I'm starving!" She said and Draco shook his head. She chose a banana. He mentally shook himself, and decided to busy himself with the basket while she was eating it.

"So, was there anything in particular you wanted to talk to me about?" She asked, after they'd tried a bit of everything.

"Yes, actually, there was. But I'm not entirely sure how to say it, so you'll have to bear with me." He said, wishing there was something stronger than pumpkin juice in the basket.

"I'm used to that." Elvira said, looking at him expectantly.

"Right. So, I... I wanted to apologise for my behaviour, you know, with Nott and Zabini and all that." He said, looking at a beetle that scurried onto their blanket, trying to get out of the rain.

"It's ok." Elvira said, taking his hand again. He still couldn't look at her.

"The thing is, I.. I.." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I couldn't get you out of my head, and it drove me mad, it is driving me mad." He forced out. He risked a look at Elvira. She didn't giggle, she didn't blush, she just sat there, looking as though she was contemplating the matter.

"Well, just think about the year you've had, Draco. I think it's a perfectly reasonable reaction. You needed something to focus on to get you through it. I think you needed me to be something more than I really was, to feel like it meant something." She said, smiling carefully at him. She really had no idea what she did to him.

"Perhaps. But it started before all that." He whispered the last part, half hoping she wouldn't hear it.

"Oh. I guess it's the same principal, though. What would probably have been a meaningless crush became something else, because you..." Draco cut her off.

"Is it really that hard for you to believe I could... Uhm.. Like you?" He said stupidly. 'Fall in love with' was too much for him to even think of, let alone say.

"Well, yes! You're Draco Malfoy!" She said, as if that explained anything. He cocked his eyebrow.

"What is that supposed to mean?" He asked, smirking.

"Pretty much every single girl in Slytherin wants you. And you're the least emotional person I have ever met. You're not supposed to like anyone." She said and he couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, I do. Why would I kiss you if I didn't?" He said and Elvira looked ashamed.

"Honestly? I thought you needed me for something, and that you figured it was the easiest way." She said, looking away for the first time. Draco felt as though she'd stabbed him in the chest with the butter knife.

"Then why did you go along with?" He asked, trying to pull his hand back. Elvira refused to let go.

"I guess I hoped that wasn't really the reason." She said, turning to look at him again.

"It wasn't." He said stiffly.

"I didn't know what to think! I'm sorry." She said, looking at him with big, pleading eyes.

"No, don't be. I should have been clearer." He said.

"Well, you're pureblood." Elvira said.

"What does that have to do with any of this." He asked, looking at her.

"Just something your mother said." She muttered.

"Right. It's out in the open now, so let's just enjoy the beautiful weather." Draco said and Elvira grinned mischievously. She stood up, pulling him with her.

"Don't even think about it." Draco warned, but her grin just grew wider. She took out her wand, removing the shield charm, before pulling him with her out into the rain.

"Let loose." She whispered, before pushing him down into the mud. This time, however, he was prepared, so he pulled her with him. And this time, he did kiss her.


	19. Chapter 19

We're back to Elvira's POV, writing Draco was literally painful for me. I relate so much to him, and I'm such an emotional clutz, I felt like I was wringing my own soul out. Not fun.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

As it turns out, a prolonged make-out session with Draco, in plain view, as people were coming out of the great hall after lunch, was not a good idea at all. So far it had resulted in a couple of angry letters, a very chilly atmosphere in Elvira's dorm and the most uncomfortable chat with Madam Pomfrey anyone could ever imagine having.

"I think I would have jumped from the window rather than sitting through that." Pansy said when Elvira had told her about what they'd gone through in the infirmary.

"Believe me, it crossed my mind several times. If I ever hear the word 'manhood' again, I'll drown myself in the lake." Elvira muttered. Blaise looked thoroughly amused.

"What about maidenhead? Let's not forget that one." He said, chuckling to himself as Draco winced. He hadn't looked at Elvira since Pomfrey pulled out the posters, and she couldn't blame him. It had been utterly mortifying.

"Shut up, Blaise." Elvira said, glaring at him.

"Oh, come on. It's funny!" Blaise said, still grinning.

"Really? What about this, then?" Elvira said, pulling a letter Blaise's mother had sent her the previous day and handing it to him. Blaise stopped grinning and started scowling.

"Exactly." Elvira said. She'd gotten a letter from her father, forbidding her to go near Draco ever again, complete with threats of dissownment. She'd also gotten a letter from Agata, apologising on her sons behalf, for whatever he'd done to drive her into the arms of 'the Malfoy boy' and a whole lot of nonsense about having a serious chat at Christmas.

"Why is she assuming I did something?" Blaise muttered.

"Because you usually do?" Pansy offered.

"Shove off, Parkinson." Blaise said, balling up the letter.

"You'll need to work on that attitude of his, Elvira, if I'm ever going to visit you." Pansy said, turning towards her with a sympathetic expression. Draco tensed, but didn't say anything.

"Never mind that, I have bigger problems. How on earth am I supposed to weasel information out of the Gryffindors now?" Elvira said, slumping against the back of the chair.

"You could say he used a lovepotion?" Pansy suggested, immediatly throwing her hands up in surrender at the look Draco sent her.

"They'd probably buy that. If I played the 'poor me, I was drugged' card, I'm sure a couple of them would come to my rescue." Elvira said, not noticing Draco's pained expression.

"Thank you." He muttered silently.

"Oh, stop sulking. You can't have her if the Dark Lord kills her." Pansy said harshly. It didn't help much, as Draco sulked more than ever.

"This isn't helping." Elvira said, silently wondering why she had decided to share this with all three of them. It was like a disaster waiting to happen.

"I have no idea how he imagined you pulling something like this off after he got no less than three Death Eaters employed here." Pansy said, looking apprahensively at Draco.

"I have a feeling things are going to get bad around here really quickly." Elvira said, and to her great dismay, she was right.

Not even two weeks into the term, the Carrows had turned the school into some sort of torture facility. They'd called all the Slytherins together one night, telling them how it was their responsibility to punish the non-believers, and that they'd award any Slytherin who helped them. Elvira had just narrowly escaped having to crucio a bunch of Hufflepuffs because of her 'mission'. And somehow, this had actually helped her with what she was supposed to be doing for the Dark Lord. The students of the other houses noticed that she didn't do what most of the older Slytherin students were supposed to, and a couple of them had began sending her encouraging nods during meals. It made her feel sick, for several reasons. For one, it felt like she was lying to them, leading them on. Most of them had also been incredibly rude, bordering on mean, to her for years, so it almost made her angry as well. 'If you just abandon all your friends and your family, we'll like you!'.

After several weeks without progress, she decided she needed to step up her game. She had to make an effort, at least. She doubted they would say anything, she doubted they even knew where Potter was. Surely he had to be clever enough to understand that it would be dangerous to everyone who knew where he was, and he didn't seem like the type to knowingly put someone in danger.

"Vincent?" Elvira said, sitting down next to her brother, who was dozing off on a sofa in the Slytherin common room.

"Hmm?" He said, opening one eye to look at her.

"I need you to do me a favour." She said, and he sat up.

"Alright." He said. Elvira took a deep breath.

"I need you to take me with me the next time you're supposed to be punishing someone, and crucio me." She said, looking into his eyes, that were so much like hers.

"No." He said, wrinkling his nose.

"Listen, you know the Dark Lord has given me a task. And I need the others to think I'm fighting this whole thing. I need your help. If they see my own brother has turned against me, it makes it more believable." She said, feeling disgusted with herself. It was a common feeling these days.

"But it'll hurt." Vincent said, looking sad.

"I know. But it'll hurt even more if I fail." Elvira said, and Vincent nodded.

"Alright. But I'll only do it a little." He said.

"Thank you." Elvira said, smiling sadly at him.

"I'm meeting the Carrows at 4. I'll tell them about your plan." He said, not looking too happy. Elvira nodded and stood up. She decided to skip dinner.

At 6 she found herself huddled in a classroom with the best person she could have hoped for. Neville Longbottom was standing beside her, looking suspiciously at her.

"I thought you were supposed to be against this." He said.

"I am." She said simply. Longbottom kept looking at her, but he looked more curious than suspicious. The door opened, Vincent and Amycus Carrow came in, Vincent doing exactly as they'd talked about. He feigned surprise, brilliantly.

"What are you doing here?" Vincent grumbled.

"I was sent here." Elvira said glaring at Carrow for dramatic effect.

"Now, Mr. Crabbe. You've been improving, but this time I want you to focus even more energy into it. This is your sister, she has betrayed her family, betrayed you. Make her pay for it." Carrow said, looking as casual as if he was teaching someone to re-pot a daffodil. Vincent nodded and raised his wand, hesitating. Longbottom's eyes grew big as he as pieced together the puzzle. Vincent's big arm was trembling slightly. Then he closed his eyes and whispered 'crucio' as though hoping his wand wouldn't hear him. It did though, and red light shot from it, connecting with Elvira's chest and she crumpled, screaming. The pain was unbearable, indescribable. She couldn't think clearly, she only wished it would end, one way or another. And then it did.

"Passable. I suppose it was a good first try on a family member. Try again." Carrow said, looking at Elvira coldly. Elvira looked up at Vincent, and saw that his eyes were filled with tears. He closed them again, and the tears trickled down his cheek.

"Crucio!" He said, with a bit more force and Elvira screamed in pain again, thrashing on the floor for what felt like days. And then it stopped. She just lay there, dazed and twitching. She heard Carrow talk, but she couldn't grasp what he was saying. There was another flash of red light, and the room filled with Longbottoms screams. They seemed to go on forever before the room went quiet again.

"Very good! 20 points for Slytherin! We'll just let the bloodtraitors stay here until they can crawl back to where they came from, shall we?" Amycus' voice spoke in the distance, and Elvira was vaguely aware of the door opening and closing as they left. She stared into the dungeon wall, tears trailing silently down her face and into her hair. If the stupid Dark Lord didn't believe she'd done her best now, he could go to hell. She gingerly sat up, feeling lightheaded. She looked over at Longbottom and saw that he was curled together on the floor, looking terrified. She didn't blame him, if what she'd heard about his parents were true.

"Are you alright?" She asked carefully, fully aware of how stupid that question was. Of course he wasn't alright.

"I reckon I'm better than you. I can't imagine how I'd feel if my brother did that to me." He said, still not moving. It seemed like her plan was working, but looking at the broken heap of a human next to her, she felt no joy.

"I don't think he wanted to." Elvira said, trying as best she could to stick to what she'd prepared. Longbottom stirred, and eventually sat up, wincing.

"Maybe not." He said, and despite the fact that he'd definitely gotten the worse end of the deal, he looked at her with sympathy. Elvira felt bad, really bad. She hadn't realised how easy it would be to manipulate someone like Longbottom, someone so genuinly nice. She crawled over to the wastepaper basket and vomited, aware that it would probably just fuel the sympathy fire she was suddenly eager to put out.

"I should get back." Elvira said, shakily standing up.

"Back where? To the Slytherins?" Longbottom asked, and Elvira didn't dare to look at him.

"I have nowhere else to go." She said sadly, before opening the door and leaving, feeling more disgusted by herself and the whole situation than she ever had before.

"Have you completely lost your mind!?" Blaise roared at her when she came into the common room. She supposed it was safe to assume Vincent had told him what had happened.

"Not now, Blaise." She said, slumping into the chair he'd sprung out of the second he'd seen her. Pansy was sitting in the chair next to her, looking worried. Blaise muttered angrily to himself, pacing in front of the fireplace.

"Will you sit down, you're making me dizzy." Elvira said, and Blaise scowled at her, but sat down.

"Could you please tell us what happened? Carrow didn't say much, he just told us you'd set a fine example, sacrificing yourself for the Lord." Pansy said.

"He said that?" Elvira said, frowning. These people were crazy if they thought a 16 year old girl getting tortured was brilliant.

"Yeah. He made a right big fuss about it. Now, what happened?" Blaise said, still scowling.

"I had to do something, and by the looks of things, it worked. I didn't tell you, because I knew you'd try and stop me. And I probably wouldn't have done it if that happened." Elvira said, suddenly feeling guilty about that as well. This was not a good day for her.

"Draco went crazy. Well, crazier than usual." Pansy said, and Elvira's stomach dropped another couple of notches. She'd completely forgotten about him.

"Is he mad at me?" She asked.

"Not as much mad as worried sick, I think." Pansy replied, patting Elvira's hand consollingly. Elvira groaned.

"I better go look for him." She said, starting to get up.

"I'll go. You go to bed. And don't do anything stupid." Blaise said before hurrying out of the common room.

"I had to do something." Elvira said, suddenly desperate to explain herself.

"I know. It's just a reminder for all of us how bad things are. They'll calm down. Now, let's get you to bed." Pansy said, standing up and Elvira was grateful for her being there and not flying off the handles.

"Thank you." She muttered and followed Pansy to her dorm, where she fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Facing Draco the next day was almost as bad as being hit with the Cruciatus curse. Almost. He looked at her with hurt, disappointment and anger, and Elvira wanted to run away.

"How could you possibly be so stupid?" Draco hissed dangerously, apparently no longer caring who heard their conversations, as they were in the middle of the common room. Granted, most of them had seen them rolling around in the mud a couple of weeks earlier, so maybe he figured it didn't matter.

"I didn't think I needed your permission." Elvira bit back.

"That's the problem, isn't it?" He said, looking at her angrily.

"What? That I didn't think?" Elvira snarled.

"Well, you tend not to." Draco said, crossing his arms. Elvira glared at him before standing up and stomping from the common room.

And then there was Vincent, who couldn't even bring himself to look at her. Elvira found it hard to look at him too. She hadn't realised it would be that hard for him to do what she'd asked, but the worst thing was that after he was done with her, he'd turned to Longbottom and showed him no mercy at all. That scared her. She patted him awkwardly on the shoulder, and told him that what he'd done had been very helpful before heading for her first class.

This was yet another thing that made her bad week even worse. Since she was now in her sixth year, a selection of people from all the houses were in her class, and they kept looking at her with sad eyes, as if to say 'poor you, it must have been awful'. Elvira wanted to scream at them. These were the same people who had jinxed her, pushed her, called her names for years. She shouldn't feel guilty about what she was trying to do, but she did. She wanted to leave Hogwarts and never come back. Instead, she kept her head down, did the work she was asked to do, and ignored everyone. As soon as the bell rang, she picked up her bag and bounded from the classroom as if it was on fire. She hurried down to the entrance hall, and burst out of the doors, gasping. The grass was covered in frost, and it crunched beneath her feet as she walked aimlessly around the grounds. She stopped by the lake, sighing deeply. 6 weeks until Christmas. She could manage for 6 more weeks.

"Rough day?" Said a voice behind her. She whipped around. She knew that voice.

"Theo?"


	20. Chapter 20

**Alright, so the last chapter was rather poor, but it was a lot of things I needed to write, that I just couldn't fit into this one. I couldn't get it to flow properly, so I just cut it all out and put it into another chapter****, also**** without any 'flow'. *pats self on the shoulder*. **

**Also, I'll be dropping an F bomb in this chapter. Not sure if the current rating allows me to do that, so some input on that would be grand.**** And I'm so sorry for the delay, I've had major writers block, everything's just gone all wrong with my writing the past few weeks.**

"There you are!" Pansy said from somewhere to her left, slumping into the chair next to Elvira.

"Yeah, I wasn't hungry." Elvira said. Pansy raised her eyebrow.

"You're always hungry, so something must be bothering you. I brought you some food." Pansy said, throwing a napkin full of buttered toast at her.

"Thanks." Elvira said.

"So, do you want to talk about it, or are we pretending it's 'part of the plan'?" Pansy said.

"Theo showed up." Elvira said, timing it perfectly with Draco's arrival.

"Well, this is awkward." Pansy said, unhelpfully. Elvira shot her a look as Draco left. Elvira sighed.

"I better go talk to him. Thanks for the toast, and the help." Elvira said.

"No problem!" Pansy replied, smiling.

"You need to stop this, Draco." Elvira said, not really having come up with anything better. She'd found him in the unused classroom down the corridor, where they always seemed to end up when things were bad.

"I hate this!" He said, punching the wall.

"Hate what, exactly?" Elvira said, feeling apprehensive.

"I don't like this possessive, lovesick fool I've turned into. It's pathetic. I'm not supposed to be like this. I don't do 'feelings'." He said, kicking a chair.

"So you hate having feelings for me?" Elvira said, struggling to keep calm.

"I didn't..." He started, but Elvira cut him off.

"Yes, you did. You're scared, and you want to run away. It's what you do." Elvira said.

"Then why do you keep running after me?" He snapped back, turning to look stubbornly at her.

"You know, that is an excellent question." Elvira retorted. He snorted and crossed his arms.

"Well?" He said, cocking his eyebrow.

"Well, what?" Elvira said, crossing her arms as well.

"Go on then, leave. You've obviously got it all figured it out, so there's no reason to continue this conversation, is there?" He said, waving his hand towards the door.

"Fine." Elvira spat before leaving the room, kicking the same chair Draco had previously assaulted on her way out. She stomped angrily into the common room, nearly trampling Pansy on her way up the dorm. She cast a quick look around the room before she started to toss her things pell mell into her trunk, muttering angrily under her breath. The door opened and Pansy came in and sat on the bed, looking at Elvira questioningly.

"I'm leaving." Elvira announced, slamming the lid of the trunk shut.

"Well, I'm glad you're not acting rashly." Pansy said sarcastically.

"He's impossible, I can't deal with him. And how the hell am I supposed to get information out of a bunch of people who haven't got a clue about where Potter is?" Elvira said, looking angrily at Pansy.

"No idea. And no one can deal with Draco." Pansy said calmly.

"Helpful as always. Have you seen Blaise?" Elvira asked, locking her trunk.

"Not since lunch." Pansy replied.

"Fine. I'll just wait in the common room then." Elvira said, straightening up, heading towards the door. Pansy got up and followed her.

"So, where are you going then? I hear Spain is lovely this time of year. Not too warm." Pansy said conversationally. Elvira shot her a warning look.

"Oh, come on, you can't leave and we both know it." Pansy continued, waving her hand dismissively.

"Yes, I can. I just need to make preparations." Elvira said stubbornly.

"I'm assuming you mean funeral preparations?" Pansy said and Elvira stopped dead.

"Don't joke about that." She growled.

"I'm not." Pansy said. As much as Elvira hated to admit it, Pansy was right. Blunt and slightly bitchy, but still right. She couldn't leave without warning her family, and as it stood, she had no idea how many people in her family she could actually trust. And then there was Blaise and Agata.

"I just can't take it anymore! He's crazy!" Elvira said, slumping against the wall in defeat.

"Yes, he is. And for some reason, he's decided to share his crazy with you. He doesn't do that with just anybody." Pansy said, looking at Elvira seriously.

"Do you love him?" She asked.

"I don't know." Elvira whispered, looking down at the frayed carpet lining the dungeon floor, biting her lip.

"Still, if you can, give him some time. He's scared and confused, and a total idiot sometimes, but he loves you. He just doesn't quite understand the concept yet." Pansy said, smiling a little sadly.

"I've given him time!" Elvira said defensively, but Pansy just continued to look at her, as if waiting for Elvira to give her the answer she wanted.

"Fine, I'll try." Elvira muttered, and Pansy straightened her back.

"Good. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to find Draco and hex some sense into him." She said, winking at Elvira before disappearing through the door into the common room. Elvira sighed before heading back to her room to grab her potions book.

Pansy's talking to did nothing good, however, Draco barely looked at Elvira for weeks. Pansy told her he'd come around eventually, but when he still wouldn't look at her after they came back from the Christmas holiday, Elvira was beginning to get seriously annoyed.

"It's been over two months, Pansy, how much time am I supposed to give him?" Elvira hissed at Pansy during dinner one day. Pansy was sat on the other side of the table, just in case anyone from one of the other houses were looking. Elvira hadn't quite given up on her 'mission' just yet, so she tried to keep up the friendless act.

"Quite frankly, at this rate, I'd say move on, forget him. He's acting like such a moron even I've had enough." Pansy said, waving her fork around as she spoke. Elvira sighed as she shoveled rice into her mouth.

"Has he told you why he's so mad?" Elvira said. Pansy took a sip of her pumpkin juice, and looked at Elvira with a 'guess three times' kind of look.

"For Merlin's sake. It's Theo, isn't it?" Elvira said, rolling her eyes.

"Nailed it!" Pansy said, pointing her fork at Elvira.

"He's convinced himself you wouldn't have said whatever you said if Nott hadn't turned up. You know, it's almost fascinating, this ability he has to make a complete twat of himself whenever possible." Pansy continued, frowning.

"It's probably easier to be mad at me than to deal with whatever's going on in his head." Elvira muttered, stabbing her chicken.

"Probably." Pansy agreed. They talked about less infuriating things after that, before walking separately back to the common room after dinner. Elvira walked slowly towards the dungeons, feeling like a complete idiot. There was a war coming, and all she could think about was boys. She spent most of her time going over pretend conversations in her head, and what she would say to Draco if he came crawling back. She snorted to herself, and a couple of people walking in front of her gave her some funny looks. She made a rude hand gesture and they sped up, muttering angrily. It was oddly satisfying.

"Taking you anger out on innocent bystanders now, are you?" Draco said, as he walked past her.

"What, you don't talk to me for weeks, and that's all you have to say?" Elvira said to his retreating back.

"I'm busy running away." He called over his shoulder, and Elvira's nostrils flared. She ran after him and smacked the back of his head as hard as she could.

"You. Immature. Twat!" She shouted, hitting him in between words. He turned around, glaring at her. Elvira glared back as best she could, panting slightly.

"Fuck you, Draco." Elvira hissed angrily. Draco just cocked his eyebrow, and even had the nerve to smirk at her.

"Here, or..?" He said and Elvira blushed. He patted her condescendingly on the head before turning around to leave. Elvira stared after him, not really sure of what had just happened.

"So, he insulted you, you hit him, he came onto you, then left and now you think he hates you?" Pansy said, ticking it off on her fingers after Elvira had told her what had happened.

"Well, when you say it like that, it sounds stupid." Elvira muttered.

"It _is_ stupid. Both of you are. I'm getting close to locking you in a room together until you can sort this out. No offence, but I'm getting pretty tired of both of you." Pansy said, flopping back down on her bed. Elvira threw a pillow at her.

"If he'd just stop being so infuriating, this wouldn't be a problem." Elvira said and Pansy rolled her eyes.

"And if you just stop thinking you know everything... If, if, if. If I had balls I'd be a wizard. Or a very odd woman. The point is, I can't sort this out for you. You need to talk to each other, and stop trying to drive the rest of us crazy. Now, get out, and don't come back until you've got something more interesting to talk about." Pansy snapped, and gestured towards the door. Elvira scowled at her as she got up and left the room. She had absolutely no intentions of talking to Draco, he could come to her if he wanted to. She decided to see if she could worm some sympathy out of Blaise, but she momentarily forgot he was notoriously rude.

"Listen, either you get it on, or you get out. It's not that complicated." Blaise shrugged.

"It is when Draco's involved..." Elvira said.

"Really? Can you really blame him for being confused? One minute you're sending him longing looks, then you're trying to suck Nott's face off, right in front of him. Then you kiss him, and he doesn't hear from you until you send his father a letter with a Zabini watermark on it. Then you toss him in the mud, before getting yourself crucio'd. You're not really that easy to deal with either." Blaise said, never lifting his eyes from the book he was reading.

"Who's side are you on!?" Elvira asked shrilly.

"I'm not taking sides in this, you're both nuts." Blaise said.

"I hate you..." Elvira said, crossing her arms.

"I hate you too, wifey." Blaise said, turning a page in his book. Elvira glared at him, but he didn't seem to notice. The worst part was that she was beginning to think he might be right. Theo had said something similar when he'd shown up in December. She sighed heavily and Blaise looked up.

"Got there at last, did you?" He asked, smirking slightly.

"Shut up." She mumbled, covering her face with her hands.

Things went from bad to worse so quickly after that. Students all over the school were silently rebelling after several people had disappeared, death reports came pouring in every day, which ended in a stand-off in the Slytherin common room, after a tiny little third year tried to hex Vincent. After a lot of shouting and trying to calm things down, Elvira finally got the kid, who's name was Colm, to tell her what happened. He'd sobbed loudly as he told her about his mother being killed by Death Eaters for refusing to join them. So, when Draco didn't return from his Easter holiday, and the word travelled around that his crazy aunt had stuffed up and gotten them punished, Elvira was pissed enough to walk right into Malfoy Manor and punch the Dark Lord right in the nose.

The only good thing about it all was that she received a letter from her father, informing her that she'd been relieved from her 'duty', since Potter had been spotted. The letter also said to prepare for things to come, which was just about as crappy an ending you could possibly get to a letter.

"How can they not see how messed up this is?" Blaise said, after Pansy had gotten a similar letter from her parents, telling her to be careful.

"They're brainwashed. No sane person sends their kid a letter that basically says 'hope you're well, prepare to die'." Elvira said, as she folded Pansy's letter together and handed it back to her. Someone shouted something on the other end of the common room, but Elvira ignored them. Slytherin had been split into three, the people who agreed with the Dark Lord, the people who disagreed out loud and the people who, like Elvira, Pansy and Blaise, silently hated everyone on both sides. Most people were the silently hating everyone type, but you had the usual couple of idiots who made a fuss. Two of those people were now orphans. Elvira understood their anger, but she wasn't stupid enough to risk her mothers life for the opportunity to slag Goyle off.

"Merlin's tits." Blaise said, and Elvira raised her eyebrow at him.

"I'm pretty sure Merlin didn't ha..." Elvira started, but found herself unable to finish her sentence when she turned around. Professor Snape stood in the middle of the room, next to a deathly pale, bald man. The first thought that ran through Elvira's head was 'wouldn't be easy to punch that one on the nose', which was so bizarre she had to contain a smile. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw people dropping to their knees, but she was to stunned to really register it. This was the man who had ruined her family, was trying to ruin the magical community, and he didn't really look like much. She felt a tug on her robe, and she looked down to see Blaise sitting on the floor, looking at her with a 'is this the time?' Kind of look. Flustered, she dropped hastily to her knees as well, hoping she hadn't been standing there for too long. The Dark Lord looked around the room, smiling eerily. Then he motioned for them to stand up.

"I wanted to address you personally." He said simply, his voice cold. He continued to look around the room, not speaking again until he'd gotten a good look at them all.

"You are the future, my dear children. You are what we fight for. For you to grow up in a world where you can live freely as wizards and witches, where you won't have to hide." He continued, and for the first time Elvira appreciated how he'd gotten so many followers. Despite the creepyness, he was very convincing. Blaise being Blaise though, saw nothing more than a opportunity to be snarky.

"Sounds like a Whitney Houston song." He whispered almost soundlessly. Elvira shot him a questioning look, but he just smirked.

"Some of you." The Dark Lord began, pausing to look around the room meaningfully. Elvira shivered when his eyes fell on her.

"Have shown that your loyalty lies with me, with the cause. And I am here to ask those of you who are able, to fight with me when the time comes. Rise to the will of Slytherin's founder, rise against injustice towards us all." He finished dramatically, his arms raised as if to embrace them all. Vincent and Gregory started clapping, and a slow, un-enthusiastic applause broke out. The Dark Lord seemed pleased though, and he looked at Snape.

"You will be notified should your assistance be needed. Your loyalty will be awarded." Snape said, drawing out the words in a way only he knew how to. He bowed his head and the two left the room without saying another word. There was a stunned silence, before people started started muttering and whispering. Elvira turned to look at Blaise and Pansy, who looked about as stunned as she felt. Blaise looked uninterested.

"What the hell was that about?" Elvira said, and Pansy shook her head in response. Blaise was just humming to himself as he picked up his book again. Elvira sent him a look.

"What? We can't do anything about this now, anyway. Might as well be happy while we can." He said.

"That reminds me, who is Whitney Houston?" Pansy asked, tilting her head.

"I think she's a muggle. I found loads of muggle music in my dad's house." Blaise said, smirking.

"You're impossible. And what are you reading? You've hardly looked up since last friday." Elvira snapped. Blaise showed her the spine of the book.

"Magical contracts; how much trouble am I in? What are you reading that for?" Elvira asked.

"No offence, but I have no intentions of marrying you." He said, turning a page.

"None taken. Have you found anything?" Elvira said, leaning closer.

"Not yet. Marriage contracts are so outdated, it's damn near impossible to find anything on them." Blaise said, frowning.

"Aren't there some general rules or something? Something that all contracts must include?" Elvira said, reading the table of contents upside down.

"Yes, but none of them helps us." He said, flipping to a page as if he knew the book by heart. Elvira moved to sit beside him and read the page quickly.

"Have you read through this properly?" Elvira asked.

"Yeah, why?" He said. Elvira pointed at a paragraph at the bottom of the page, working very hard to keep her excitement hidden. Blaise read it, his eyebrows travelling further and further up his forehead.

"How did I miss that?" He said, looking bewildered.

"Would you mind sharing?" Pansy said harshly.

"According to this, all contracts signed on behalf of someone who's underage becomes invalid when that person turns 17. Unless the person in question is... You know, not entirely 'there', and can't be trusted to take care of themselves." Blaise said.

"Then how does that help you?" Pansy asked innocently. Blaise glared at her as Elvira laughed.

"The point is, unless I make a contract with your father myself, we're not getting married. See, I told you not to be so negative." Blaise said, beaming. Elvira couldn't contain a small smile of her own.

"It's been dreadful being engaged to you, Blaise. And I believe I have something that belongs to you." She said, taking of the ring he'd given her last summer, which she had to promise Agata to start wearing again when she'd forgotten it for the Christmas holiday, and gave it to him.

"Think fast!" He said suddenly, tossing the ring to Pansy. He miscalculated slightly and hit her on the forehead.

"Lamest proposal ever." Pansy muttered as she slid the ring on her finger. Elvira gaped at them.

"What?" Blaise said.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Elvira said.

"Guess it slipped my mind." Blaise said, shrugging.


	21. Announcement

Hi everyone!

So sorry I haven't posted anything new, but I've been busy editing the story. I will update the chapters the next few days, and when I'm done with that, I'll upload chapter 21.

The storyline won't change, so if you don't want to read it all again, you don't have to. I'm just editing mistakes, timelapses and explaining a few things I somehow thought didn't need explaining at the time.

Anyway, a new improved story should be up by Sunday, and I'll post the newest chapter then as well =)

Fjellnord


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